


Demons, Hunters and Demigods

by eatyourhartout



Series: Demigods and Hunters [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Daughter of Athena, F/M, Hunters & Hunting, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Angst, Season 1, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-04-26 14:17:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 140
Words: 73,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14403891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eatyourhartout/pseuds/eatyourhartout
Summary: Anna Colt is a semi retired hero. But before she retires she decides to go to Stanford. She meets two brothers; mortal hunters.What will she do?(OC character. Some canon cameos, post giants war, set in season 1/2 supernatural)Minor swearing





	1. Chapter 1

_Anna_

Anna hunted through her closet, looking for her halloween costume. Already late she tossed her clothing haphazardly to the side, leaving her room looking worse than Cabin 11 before inspection. She managed to dig out an ensemble that resembled Madonna's Like a Virgin album cover. As she pulled out the fluffy tulle skirt she hovered tentatively over the closed and locked trunk in the closet. She forced herself to leave it closed as she grabbed her coat and rushed to the Halloween party.


	2. Chapter 2

_Anna_

Anna threaded her way through the throngs of collegiate students in varying stages of dress and undress. The entire gang was already there, Jess dressed as a sexy nurse, Luis as a ghoul, and Sam, as usual, had no costume on.

"Sorry I'm late short stuff, couldn't find my costume. But, then again, I guess you couldn't either." Anna stretched onto her toes to ruffle Sam's hair. Everyone laughed and the bartender slid her a beer that spilled all over the table top.

"No big Anna. Besides tonight is about Sam, and his awesome LSAT victory." Jess said raising her glass.

"All right, all right, it's not that big a deal," Sam huffed, toasting with his own shot anyways.

"Short stuff scored a one seventy-four, of course it's a big deal." Anna threw back a shot before trying to ruffle her friend's hair again. Sam swatted her hand away as Luis asked if that was a good score.

"Scary good," Jess bragged as she took her shot.

"So there you go. You are a first-round draft pick. You can go to any law school you want!" Luis said sitting down with another round.

"Actually, I got an interview here, Monday. If it goes okay I think I got a shot at a full ride next year," Sam announced. Jess nudged Sam gently.

"Hey. It's gonna go great."

"It better," Sam said. Anna tossed back another shot.

"You're going to get in." Her voice was edged with certainty.

"How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" Luis asked.

"Ah, they don't know," Sam said, Jess looked at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Oh, no, I would be gloating! Why not?" Luis asked.

"Because we're not exactly the Brady's," Sam said. Anna slammed her shot down harder than she meant did not drown out the memories of what her family's dysfunction looked like.

"And I'm not exactly the Huxtables. More shots?" Luis asked.

"No!" Jess and Sam chimed. Anna kept quiet, sipping her beer as Luis got up and went to the bar to get the drinks.

"Seriously. I'm proud of you. And you're gonna knock em dead on Monday and you're gonna get that full ride. I know it," Jess said. Sam gave Jess a sweet smile and asked,

"What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn," she joked as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Ahhh! My virgin eyes!" Anna teased, covering her eyes with both hands. Rolling their eyes they broke apart. Anna peeked through her fingers to check if it was safe and laughed. She smiled thinking how nice normalcy was. Anna looked down into her drink, frowning at the dark turn her thoughts had pulled her.

Being a demigod, being a daughter of Athena, her life was destined to be short and brutal. At twenty two she had more than outlived her life expectancy of fourteen. She had been lucky enough to survive both wars and was looking forward to avoid getting caught up in the shenanigans that was her Uncle Apollo's mess. She did not want to lead her family and friends back into battle. Or worse, risk everything to spy on their enemies. Again.

She'd convinced Chiron and her mother and Mr. D that she could handle the mortal world enough to attend college. She spent every vacation at Camp Half Blood to train and spent most weekends at Camp Jupiter. She spent the first half of her collegiate experience commuting from Camp Jupiter and only began to live just off campus during her second and final year. Her mother's blessing helped her speed through credits.

She'd hung up her shield, put away her sword. Anna had changed her name and hidden her identity so deep only the gods themselves could have unearthed her past from before Camp Half Blood, and only another demigod could find who she was while she had been there.

"Hey Anna, you ok?" Jess's voice pulled Anna away from her spiraling thoughts. She plastered on a smile.

"Nope! I think I forgot to turn in my thesis for my Psych class." She lied easily. Sam laughed as Luis returned with a new round of shots.

"To being young and stupid and mostly free of responsibility." She toasted. Everyone laughed as they clicked their glasses together and drank.


	3. Chapter 3

_Anna_

Anna grunted as she raced down the street, the harpy flapping after her.

"Minotaur shit. Why can't demigods retire?" She panted. The harpy screeched as Anna dodged under a covered pathway. She slowed just enough that she could reach for the celestial bronze dagger she had strapped under her skirt. She twisted around and flung her only weapon at the wrinkled and haggard flying bird woman. The dagger embedded itself into the center of the harpy's forehead and with a final defiant screech the bird dissolved into the typical sand that all mythological beasties turn into when sent back to Tartarus.

She sighed as she picked up her knife, wiping it down before tucking it back into the sheath on her leg. Stone sober and cold she began to walk back towards her apartment, praying to the gods that her roommate and her boyfriend had finished by then.

As she walked by Sam and Jess's building she noticed a black muscle car pull up outside of it. An owl hooted softly and Anna immediately perked up. Too many years spent fighting for survival left her with both an acute intuition and deep seated paranoia. She wasn't sure which one the car had triggered but she was pretty sure that the owl was an omen. Athena was telling her something. She crept closer, cursing the rustling of the tulle tutu she was still wearing. A Greek in the Bay Area attracts lots of unwanted attention and she could never be too careful with both herself and the mortal friends she makes.

Watching from the shadows, she watches as a man climbs out of the car. He surveys his perimeter, exactly as she had watched so many campers do when she trains them in the woods. He completely missed her; just like she wanted. The man's alertness sent serious alarms in her head. He began to climb up the fire escape before finally coming to a stop outside Sam's window. He began to jimmy the lock.

Anna swore a blue streak as she ran across the street. If it has been any other apartment she would have called campus security and the police and washed her hands of it. The man was clearly not a mythological problem. Therefore it was not her responsibility. But she wasn't the type to leave her friends hanging. She pulled out the older flip phone, a model that was harder for monsters to track her with and more difficult to destroy than a chimera. She dialed Sam as she raced up the ladder. The phone went to voicemail. Anna swore as she dialed again. As she dialed a third time the man had vanished into the apartment. Anna called campus security, giving the address and reporting a suspicious character trying to break into the apartment. Hanging up she raced up the ladder after the intruder.

* * *

She swung her legs through the window, tucking and rolling into the room silently. A loud crash come from the other room. Anna forced herself to stay calm and quiet. Logically, Sam was not a small man, and unless the intruder had a gun he was probably ok. Anna rounded the corner to see Sam hauling the other man around. The intruder threw a punch that Sam neatly dodged. Anna came at the other man from the other side, as if she had come from the front door instead of the kitchen window. They both hit the ground and Anna ended up on bottom. The other man had bright green eyes, she quickly threw him off of her and held him in a stern half Nelson. She yanked him to his knees.

"Sam I called you three times that someone was breaking into your apartment. You didn't pick up once." Anna scolded, throwing her friend off to the fact that she just appeared in his apartment. Sam didn't seem to hear her, instead was staring at the man she had locked in her arms, flabbergasted.

"Dean?" He said incredulously.

Anna looked closer at the man whose arm she was twisting rather cruelly. She could see a small resemblance between the two.

_'I thought Sam and his family was estranged.'_  She thought to herself.

"Sam I called campus security. Should I call them off or would you like to turn him in?" Anna asked her shocked friend quietly.

"Let go." He replied quietly. Anna released the man immediately. Sam hauled his brother to his feet. He inspected him for a moment before throwing another punch at him. Dean blocked easily and knocked Sam to the ground.

"Woah, easy there tiger." He chuckled.

"You scared the crap out of me." Sam snapped from the floor. They continued to bicker and banter as Anna quietly walked to the front door and jimmied the lock to look like she had burst in. A campus security officer walked up to the door as she finished.

"I got a report that someone was breaking into a residence here?" Anna laughed easily.

"I'm so sorry officer, turns out my neighbor's roommate was so drunk she tried to get into the wrong apartment. I was just jumpy after that robbery last week. I am so sorry for wasting your time." She sighed apologetically. The officer just smiled benignly at her.

"Well better safe than sorry kiddo. Thanks for coming to the door and letting me know. Have a nice evening." She nodded enthusiastically before closing the door and walking back towards the kitchen.

When Anna walked back into the kitchen Jess had already turned on the lights in confusion. Anna stood next to her friend quietly. Jess took Anna's appearance in stride, having had her stay over frequently when her roommate took over their apartment for her and her boyfriend's sexcapades.

"Dean this is my girlfriend Jessica." Dean looked her up and down, taking in the smurfs pajamas before moving on to Anna, still in a white bustier and tutu from the club. Luckily her jacket still covered up the scarring on her shoulders and arms.

"And?" Dean trailed off waiting for Anna to introduce herself. She just crossed her arms and addressed Sam.

"I sent campus security away. I don't want to have to call them back." Sam nodded in thanks.

"And that is Anna. A friend." Anna turned to Jess as Sam conducted her introduction, choosing to deliberately ignore the sudden appearance of Sam's brother.

"Wait, your brother Dean?" Jess asked, an anxious smile tugging on her lips. Sam nods as Dean smirks.

"I love the smurfs, and I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brothers league." He grins flirtatiously. Anna continues to ignore Dean as she turned to her stunned friend.

"Jess, Sara and Danny took over the apartment. Is it ok if I borrow some clothes? They didn't even give me a chance to grab my bag." Jess nodded distractedly.

"Let's go put something on." Both women turn to leave.

"No, no no. I wouldn't dream of it. Really." Anna can't help but roll her eyes at the cocky arrogance that dripped from Dean's manner. In some ways he was worse than some of the gods. Only Anna could see through his act. Sam snapped out of his daze for a moment.

"Wait, Anna." She turned back towards the room. Jess seemed frozen in place anyways.

"Yes Sam?" She asked quietly. She resisted the urge to fidget. Her ADHD wasn't as bad as most of her peers, but in moments of high stress it tended to come out of her. She'd really only made friends in the last year or so at Stanford. A double major with two minors, her school work kept her busy during her first year. Anna was rescued from her friendless study filled haze over the summer while completing as many credits as possible. She'd met Sam who had been retaking a chemistry course for a better grade and they'd been lab partners. After catching up to the other seniors at the beginning of the fall semester she finally made mortal friends and began to enjoy her college experience. Anna wanted a little mortal normal before she retired to New Rome. She really hoped that tonight wouldn't ruin her friendships with Jess and Sam. But even if it did she wouldn't let herself regret trying to help them.

"Thank you." Anna smiled faintly at Sam, a short nod her only reply. Relief pounded through her head with Sam's continued acceptance of her.

"You ok?" Sam gave her a clinical once over, as though he could evaluate any bruises or scrapes that occurred in the two minutes since she had scuffled with Dean.

"I'm fine Sam." Her smile was stronger now. The gods knew she'd gotten worse scrapes from capture the flag; not even counting the two wars she'd fought in. Dean gave her elevator eyes again.

"Yes you are." He walked over and stuck his hand out, looking for a hand shake. She didn't oblige.

"Dean. Dean Winchester. If I had known you were a goddess I wouldn't have hit you so hard." At that Anna blew out a hard breath; it could have been interpreted as a laugh. Or fear. Even Anna wasn't sure which she felt at the moment. She hoped Aphrodite wouldn't smite her for that comment.

"Anna Colt. And you barely tapped me 007." Dean chuckled and dropped his hand when she didn't shake.

"Sorry ladies, but I need to borrow my brother about some private family business. But it was nice to, uh, meet you." He walked back to Sam, as though waiting for the womenfolk to disperse at his word. Both women stayed firmly in the doorway.

"No. Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of my girlfriend and my best friend." Sam marched over to stand next to them in the doorway. Anna almost fell over in shock.

_'Best friend? That's a dangerous attachment to have with a mortal.'_ Anna mentally berated herself even as something inside her warmed. Sam wrapped an arm around Jess.

"Okay." Dean turned to face all three of them. Anna leaned against the wall, watching Dean's body language subtly shift from teasing to pensive. He was eyeing Anna and Jess, but not in the lecherous and inappropriate way he had been earlier. In a way that screamed outsider. Or that a secret shouldn't be shared. It was the same way Chiron had looked whenever he had discussed the great prophecy with the head counselors when Percy Jackson had first arrived at camp. She was frequently the stand in Athena staff considering she was one of the oldest surviving demigods, even when seniority rights had gone to her younger sister Annabeth.

"Umm. Dad hasn't been home in a few days." Anna noticed a slight rainbow shimmer to her left. Holding in enough curse words to make a sailor blush she edged out of the room. The Iris message shifted into view in the living room. Chiron's familiar face appeared before her, exhaustion weighing in every line of his face. Anna glanced over her shoulder and shook her head silently. Raising her hands she signaled to Chiron that she was dealing with mortals and that she would call him back within the hour. Chiron nodded his understanding before Anna slashed her hand through the rainbow, cutting off the connection. She returned to the kitchen in time to hear Dean tell Sam their father had vanished during a hunting trip. Hunting trip had been to heavily emphasized to be ignored.

_'Styx. They're hunters.'_

Chiron had warned her to steer clear of them before she had left for Stanford. Reyna and Terminus had repeated the same warning. Hunters, a name that insults the Hunt and Lady Artemis, don't understand the difference between the supernatural and the mythological. Supernatural is almost always the result of mortals meddling with Mist and violating natural law in heinous ways; the results just as twisted as their terrible origins. It created monsters not hidden by the Mist, and they often killed or attacked mortals. Mythological is much older, more dangerous, and more divine. They come from the gods or their predecessors, rather than twisted creations of mortals mixing with knock off power. Supernatural creatures suffer a true death, an erasure from existence rather than a return to Tartarus. A hunter's inability to make that distinction would get a demigod killed.

_'As though I need mortals trying to kill me on top of monsters and all my old enemies from the wars.'_

Hunters also could to some extent see through the Mist. Fighting supernatural monsters, that to an extent were still hidden from humans, negate the power of the Mist. After all it can only change perception. Mortal hunters already believed in the impossible, therefore the Mist doesn't do as much. Dean seemed to share the shoot first ask questions later attitude that would not be amiss in Cabin 5. But it was also an attitude that lead to innocent deaths, especially because the mortals don't have the right equipment to kill the things that go bump. Although Anna does give credit to mortal ingenuity when it comes to finding loopholes to killing supernatural abominations. Anna shook herself, pulling herself back into the present problem of keeping her identity even more secret than before. Hunters would notice inconsistencies much quicker than ordinary mortals.

"Anna feel free to crash on the couch like always. Thanks again for looking out for us." Anna quirked a small smile and followed Jess out of the room to borrow a set of sleepwear. Changed with teeth brushed she re-emerged to find Sam and Dean in a heated discussion in the living room. Anna caught snippets about their father and whatever it was that always seemed to happen before. She knocked on the door frame before walking through the suddenly silent room.

"I'm going to make a phone call. I'll be on the fire escape Sam."

* * *

Both men nod as she passes them. Neither noticed or didn't care that she carried more than just her phone outside. Sitting facing the window she shined the flashlight through the glass paperweight, creating a faint rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." She tossed in a gluten free donut and a single gold drachma with her mother's face stamped on the side into the rainbow.

"Chiron, Camp Half Blood" She whispered. Chiron's tired face appears on the other side of the rainbow.

"Dianne, there is talk of trouble." Anna immediately shook her head.

"Chiron, I'm as retired as a Greek demigod will ever get." Chiron purses his lips. Anna knew he would never ask if it wasn't an emergency. But he still asked. Anna didn't want to be apart of an emergency.

"I know Dianne. But you are the only one..." he trailed off. Anna sat up straighter. She knew exactly what he was asking. There was only one thing Chiron wouldn't address out loud to her anymore. Spying. She had been a spy for Chiron; and it hadn't ended well. During the Titan war she had spied on Luke, appearing to have betrayed camp for years. But when she was caught, right before the Battle of the Labyrinth, she nearly died escaping. Anna still had nightmares of the arena, and the terrible things they did to her inside it.

She was the only demigod with the skills to work undercover; after all not even Chiron knew her true name. He didn't like the subterfuge she wrapped herself in, all misdirection and secrets. Chiron was the consummate worrywort. At camp, Dianne was the name her mother had introduced her as; in order to conceal her past and her purpose for the gods. But her secrets made her skills invaluable.

"I never blamed you Chiron. But now I'd like to finish my degree, before coming back to train campers. I retired." She said quietly. Chiron looked at her, the millennia of experience seeming to weigh on him heavily.

"Child, the trouble is with mortal hunters.' Anna froze. For a demigod there is no such thing as a coincidence. Chiron continued 'You are the last demigod that is capable of handling the supernatural on this level. Your mother told me a few things when she guided you to camp all those years ago. That influenced your training. Dianne, daughter of Athena; goddess of wisdom and war, mistress of owls and serpents, Weaver, bearer of the Aegis. Palla Athena. You are the only demigod who can go on this quest. We are desperate. Mr. D has even been recalled to Olympus about the trouble brewing in the supernatural."

"Chiron..." Anna begged softly.

"I know child. I would not ask if it were not important. Rachel still doesn't have the power of Delphi but her premonitions are strong enough to assure us that you are our only choice."

"What I am, what I do, Chiron. It's thankless and dangerous and painful. I'm so close to graduating." Chiron just looked at her with his old eyes, and Anna saw the truth reflected in them. They both knew that the minute she had called back she was going to agree. Anna nodded heavily.

"I'll do it. Tell me everything I need to know."

"Thank you Dianne." She gave him a wane smile. It slid away quickly. She was too tired to pretend with her mentor. The sly old centaur was likely to see right through her anyways. He was the only one, besides her mortal father, she couldn't lie too. Even Hermes she could fool. But never Chiron.

"Don't thank me yet old man." Chiron chuckled a little.

"Rayna will be in touch tomorrow with more information, but we have heard of trouble with the veil. Underworld creatures that Hades barely controls, turmoil in the domain of a new religion. Demonic creatures are getting loose into this world. Something is wrong with the veil. The supernatural are not hidden by the Mist. And supernatural exposure could lead to our exposure."

"Chiron all of this has been happening for a long time. Demons from beyond the veil have always been loose in our plane. I agree it's dangerous but Lady Artemis's hunters and the demigods do a good enough job getting rid of them." Anna paused to think for a moment. "And I suppose the mortal hunters help too." Chiron shook his head gravely.

"No Dianne it's getting worse. And a particularly dangerous one has been loose for far too long. It targets families and children. You must stop it."

"I will. I give you my word Chiron. I'll call once I make some progress." Chiron nodded solemnly.

"Be careful of who you share your quest with. We cannot cause panic. It will lead to rash choices and could expose one or both of the camps to the mortals. Report directly to me, and pray to your mother for guidance. Iris message me directly Dianne. Be careful child." Anna nodded before she waved her hand through the rainbow, cutting off the conversation. She climbed back through the window and went straight into the living room. Jess had left her a pillow and blankets on the couch before going back to sleep. She walked through to see Dean and Sam about to walk out the door. Anna leaned against the doorframe and relaxed her body, taking a long breath. She prayed as she carefully wiped her face clear of emotion.

_'Mother please give me strength and guidance. Let this be the right thing to do.'_

"Boys." She called quietly. The brothers do a half turn in her direction.

"Hunting is dangerous. Be careful." She smiled at them before turning towards the other room.

_'Three, two, one'_

Anna counted as she filled a glass of water. The floorboards creaked behind her. Judging by the unfamiliar tread she assumed Dean. The slight squeak behind him meant that Sam followed him into the room.

"Yes?" She asked the silent room.

"Anna, what do you know about hunting?" Sam asked her cautiously. She turned around. The brothers stood side by side, as though they could will her answer to be benign. Well, Dean loomed over her, as though he could intimidate her. Anna inwardly laughed. She'd faced much more intimidating creatures, and men, beyond the elder Winchester brother.

"What I'm supposed to know Sam. I came to university for a normal life only to meet you. A Winchester." she trailed off, getting her story straight in her mind before continuing.

"You know when we first met I didn't even make the connection. I just thought it was a minor case of deja vu, but when your brother comes and says your father is missing on a  _hunting_  trip, of all things." Anna scoffed, as she shook her head.

"I feel so very stupid for not realizing it earlier." She took a long swallow from the glass of water, relaxed as could be and waited for the reaction. Dean got there first.

"What do you mean, a Winchester." He accused, sounding almost offended. Anna shook her head slowly.

"Your family isn't subtle in our circles. And we've met before. Four years ago, Arizona. Skinwalker. You boys and your daddy got there before I did." Anna continue to sip at her water as the boys sorted through her heavily doctored story looking at the grains of truth she had sprinkled in.

She really hadn't known that Sam was a hunter, but she had known the name Winchester; having actually met John while on a quest with Clarisse, in Arizona. However the concept that she was a hunter as she'd implied, was a total lie.

"So what are you saying Anna?" Sam asked her quietly.

"Nothing. I'm semi retired. All I said was to be careful." She shrugged. Dean shook his head. She poured out the rest of the water and began to wash the glass.

"You're as bad as he is. People out there need us and you just quit?" Dean scoffed. Anna slammed the glass onto the counter before turning around. She made sure to look enraged, narrowing her eyes into a fierce glare. The boys flinched back.

"No." She snarled, injecting venom and anger into her tone. She needed to sell the story. Anna leaned down and yanked up the material of the borrowed sweatpants over her knee. Over the top of her left knee were four clear claw marks, as well as some scarring from reconstructive surgery. She'd shattered it when one of Mrs. O' Leary's cousins stepped on her during the battle against Gaia the previous year. Both boys looked horrified by the white claw marks that slashed across her knee.

"I couldn't hunt anymore. I'm semi retired. I'm not dead." In that moment Sam and Dean shared many characteristics with a deer caught in headlights. Looking guilty, Dean opened his mouth. Anna made sure to cut him off, keeping her tone sharp.

"Save it." She left the room. As she spread the blanket out on the couch Sam walked in.

"Anna, whatever happened is your business. Dean's just bitter about people stopping because I left. Will you come with me to hear him out? Help me be objective?" She glanced over, before she realized her mistake. Sam's puppy eyes were even more effective than Blackjack's when he wanted extra sugar cubes. She sighed and stood up the follow the boys outside.


	4. Chapter 4

_Anna_

The trio came to a stop next to Dean's car. She ran her hand along the trunk of the car. It really was a very nice car.

"Baby is a 1967 Chevy Impala, with a 502-cubic-inch big-block V8. She's 18 feet of badass." Dean lovingly patted the car. Anna stifled the urge to laugh. She leaned up against the car as the brothers continued their discussion over their missing father.

"Sam, dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it," Dean faced a silent Sam.

"I can't do this alone."

"Yes you can," Sam replied. Both brothers tossed Anna pleading looks. She raised a single eyebrow before shaking her head. Anna had no intention of intervening. Their family problems were their own.

_'Maybe I can recommend them to a family counselor. I bet I could get Hera to tell me who she and Zeus go to.'_  Anna smirked a little at her thoughts. Dean looked at the ground.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to." Sam sighed, seemingly resigned and when he looked back at his brother, he asked defeated.

"What was he hunting?" Anna knew what Sam was going to do the moment the question passed his lips. Dean moved to the trunk of the car. He opened the spare-tire compartment. Inside the well was a large assortment of weapons; guns, ammunition, stakes. There was even an axe and a large bag of salt. Anna peered closer. The car was lightly warded.

_'At least they try to be careful.'_  Anna sighed to herself.

"All right, let's see; where the hell did I put that thing," Dean dug through the massive arsenal in the trunk of his car.

"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him," Sam asked.

"I was working my own gig. This, uh, voodoo thing, down in New Orleans."

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" Dean looked over at his brother.

"I'm twenty-six, dude." Sam just rolled his eyes. Dean picked up a folder, removing pages to show Sam and Anna.

"All right, here we go. So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy,' Dean handed Sam the image 'they found his car, but he vanished completely, MIA." Sam handed Anna the article on the missing man. She didn't even bother to look at it, knowing in the dark she wouldn't be able to read the jumbled mess her dyslexia would make it into. She lightly drummed her fingers in a staccato pattern.

_One, one two, one two three. One, one two, one two three._  She drummed. And she listened.

"So maybe he was kidnapped." Sam guessed.

"Yeah. Well, here's another one in April," Dean dismissed his younger brother. 'Another one in December 'on-nine, 'oh-three, 'ninety-eight, 'ninety-two. Ten of them over the past twenty years." With each date Dean passed along another photograph, another article on a missing man. Anna neatly stacked them back in order before giving them back to Dean. She hadn't bothered to look past the pictures of the missing men.

"All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road." Dean said while digging a bag out from under the arsenal.

"It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough." Dean took out a handheld tape, 'then I get this voicemail yesterday." Pressing play, a staticky voice crackled out the speaker.

"Dean... something big is starting to happen... I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger." A gravelly voice warned as the recording clicked off.

"You know there's EVP on that," Sam said.

"Not bad Sammy, kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Sam shook his head at Dean, waiting for his brother to continue.

"All right. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got." He pressed play again.

"I can never go home..." a distinctly female voice wavered through. Anna could barely repress the urge to throw up. Nico may as well be her kid brother but Anna hated ghosts. Not after the Battle of the Labyrinth anyway. Too many of her friends had died because of Minos. Anna herself spent far to much time in those cursed tunnels surrounded by them. Then the gods damned arena. Anna repressed her memories, shoving them deep into a lockbox and throwing away the key.

"Never go home," Sam repeated. Anna reached for Sam's shoulder, a cheap comfort when discussing creatures that go bump in the night. Dean puts everything away, leaning back against the trunk.

"You know, in almost two years I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Sam sighed and looked away. Anna rubbed his shoulder lightly, reminding him she would back him up.

"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him," Dean nodded. Anna squeezed his arm gently.

"Your interview." She murmured. Sam nodded.

"But I have to be back here, first thing Monday. Wait here." Sam turned back towards the building.

"What's first thing Monday?" Dean asked

"I have this... I have an interview,"

"What, a job interview? Skip it." Dean scoffed at his brother. Anna frowned disapprovingly.

"It's a law school interview and it's his whole future on a plate." Anna said quietly, her voice dangerously calm.

"Law school?" Dean smirked. His brother was turning out to be so very square.

"So we got a deal or not." Sam practically snarled. Dean said nothing and Sam went back into the apartment building. Anna finally pushed off the car when the silence got uncomfortable. Dean looked at her curiously.

"Semi retired." Was the only thing she said when she walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

_Dean_

Dean watched the girl walk back into his brother's building. She moved with the fluid grace of someone intimately aware of what goes bump at night, but he didn't care so much about that. He was much more interested in Anna's ass. The loaner sweats from Jessica outlined her hips quite nicely and Dean was never one to not appreciate the beauty that was the feminine form. And Anna was more beautiful than most.

"Hey Anna." She stopped, half inside already.

"Be semi active. I want a rematch from the kitchen." Anna stayed frozen in the doorway for another half beat before snorting loudly and vanishing inside without another word.


	6. Chapter 6

_Anna_

When Anna reached the living room she heard Jess and Sam arguing about why he was leaving. Ignoring them both she folded back the blanket she had spread out on the couch before lying down to sleep.

"Everything is going to be okay. I will be back in time I promise." Sam's voice drifted to the living room. Jess yelled after him as Anna watched him leave.

"At least tell me where you're going!" Anna smirked before sitting up.

"Sam, be careful. You have people waiting on you here. And if you need anything, call." Sam nodded before vanishing out the front door. Anna leaned back against the pillows.

_'This is going to suck.'_  She thought to herself as she fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Anna_

Anna spent Saturday at Camp Jupiter, discussing with Reyna what she was going to do about the increasing problems with the veil and its' demons.

"Go speak with Terminus. He may be a border god, but he is a god. He may know more about the veil, as old as he is." Anna sighed and left to do as the Praetor suggested. She liked Reyna, mostly because she saved Nico's life, and became his friend when he desperately needed one. But Anna didn't trust the Romans. She barely trusted the Greeks. Anna marched across toward New Rome, and when she reached the border she sat down next to the marble bust of the god.

"Isolde. Abominable child of the virgin goddess. What weapons do you have to declare?" The uptight and rather rude statue spoke to her. Terminus may have been a Roman deity, but he and Anna got along very well. Anna let the insult slide off her back as her favorite god appeared next to her. He was the only person she had shared her birth name with since she had buried her old identity.

"Terminus, I retired. I have no weapons to declare beyond what I can do with my own two hands." The god laughed.

"The day you retire will be the day your shade fades from Elysium. If you aren't reborn that is." Anna smiled at the god. Suddenly his face contorted in horror.

"What?" She asked defensively. She felt a breeze whip around her hair and around the threadbare clothing she had borrowed that morning.

"You need to cut exactly three point two inches off of your hair. Whoever you allowed near your head with scissors did a terrible job. It is no longer at regulation! And what are you wearing? Where is your chiton? As an emissary you should have the proper attire." The god continued to huff as he took apart her disheveled appearance. Once she might have been hurt by his callous analysis of her perceived flaws but she knew the god picked on her because he cared. Which was astounding because she was a Greek. Finally she interrupted when he started to get wound up on a tirade on the state of her nails, laughing a little.

"Terminus I've been retired, the state of my nail beds and my hair has been secondary to my school work. But that's not why I'm here. There is news that ancient powers from beyond the veil are rising. I am being asked to return to what I was best at during the war against Kronos." Terminus didn't repress his dramatic gasp.

"Dianne, you cannot. I will forbid it as a god." he huffed. The switch from her birth name to her camp name indicated someone was coming.

"Terminus I must. It involves mortal hunters." She said quietly. The god was struck mute as he processed her quest. She turned around to see Nico standing behind her. She smiled at the quiet young man. He was growing taller and seemed to have filled out a bit in the year she had been away for school.

"Hey there kiddo." She said, patting the ground next to her. Nico plopped down on the grass as Terminus began another round of analysis on Nico; covering his fluster from Anna's announcement.

"Hey Blu." Nico gave her a hug. She stiffened in shock. The introverted loner seemed different. Less like an introverted loner.

"What's going on Nico? You seem...different." Anna spoke slowly. He gave her a wide grin.

"I'm just having a good day. Those happen more now. You were right all along Blu, I just needed to find someone to be my friend. And now I have those and I have Will and I get to see you." his face darkened a little.

"I haven't seen you in months. You used to tell me you worried when I vanished after Bianca. But now you're doing the same thing." Anna shrugged sadly.

"Semi retired and I'm older than you. I'm allowed to be a hypocrite." She ruffled his hair. Terminus finished his rant about Nico and managed to circle back to the topic at hand.

"Dianne! That is far too dangerous. You said it yourself, semi retired. You have no business with what is beyond the veil." Nico leapt to his feet.

"You're doing what!" He yelled. Anna turned towards the god.

"Terminus! Look at what you've done, he wasn't supposed to know!" She scolded the deity.

"What do you mean I'm not supposed to know! You're the closest thing I've got to an older sister now Anna! And you want to mess with the veil? You'll die!" Anna looked over at Nico sadly.

"Nico, it's been written in the stars. The veil is my responsibility now, I already agreed." Terminus glared at her, while Nico crossed his arms.

"Mortal hunters are dangerous. I forbid it!" The god said. Nico nodded in agreement.

"You cannot. Mother sent me an omen last night. I have to go." She had a dream from her mother the night before. A blessing from Athena. And an order. She had no choice. Anna stood up, brushing dirt and grass off her jeans.

"Blu." Nico's voice was quiet. She tugged him into her arms, folding herself around him tightly.

"That's why you came, didn't you?" She asked him. Nico had gotten taller, no longer fitting under her chin. Now the eighteen (ish) year old child of Hades could look her in the eyes, icy grey meeting near black eyes that were clouded with pain and sorrow. He nodded.

"I was hoping it wasn't true. I wanted to keep you safe. The way I should have with Bianca. Too many of our friends have died..." She smiled at Nico, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

 _*"Ti amo piccolo fratellino molto. Voglio un mondo di bene per te, farei qualsiasi cosa per te. Anche morire."_  She whispered to him in her flawless Italian. Nico shook his head even as Terminus sniffed quietly, giving the two demigods some space.

 _*"Non voglio perderti."_  Nico whispered back. Anna smiled at the younger boy.

"I'm not gone yet!" Anna tried to laugh, even as her words caught in her throat. Nico shook his head resolutely.

"No. And you won't go for a long time, not if I can help it." He wore a familiar look, his jaw set the same way it had when he had tried to summon his mother's ghost, the way it had looked after he had Iris messaged her from Epirus about shadow travelling the Athena Parthenos home. Anna ruffled his hair again.

"Well I'm here to pick Terminus's brain. You go back home, tell Chiron to send me some of the modified guns. A few cases of celestial bronze bullets, a few of the mortal one too. If I'm going to run with hunters, it looks like I'm going to need one." Nico nodded and melted into the shadows. Anna turned to the god.

*"I won't cry over you  _graeca_." He grunted. Anna smiled.

"I would never have expected a god such as yourself to be concerned with a demimortal such as myself. But I could use a latin refresher." Terminus smiled. The strict rules of language was something he enjoyed.

 _'OCD god indeed.'_  She thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> * I love you very much little brother. I want a world of good for you, I would do anything for you. Even die. 
> 
> *I don't want to lose you
> 
> (Italian)
> 
> *greek
> 
> (Latin) 


	8. Chapter 8

_Anna_

Sunday morning Anna opened her closet and dragged out the large trunk in the back. It was an old steamer trunk, just like the kind people might have used on the Titanic. She pulled up the chain of her necklace, and removed a small silver key. Leaving the two textured iron and jade rings on the chain she unlocked the trunk. She removed the top tray that was filled with notebooks and photographs; letters from friends and small sketches and drawings she made along the way. She held up a finely cut glass pendent, the lights filtering through the facets to throw rainbows around the room. She added it to her camp necklace.

Beneath the tray was her own personal stash of weapons. Most of her personal arsenal had been given away or donated to the camp armory but she held onto enough of them to assuage her paranoia. She removed her katana, its' blade made from blessed damascus steel; perfect for the supernatural but still functional for some of the mythological monsters she would have to fight off once she leaves the Bay Area. She found her bracelets, from which twin straight swords would emerge and left them to the side. The magical weapons were a gift from Hephaestus when she had left one of his many traps for his wife and Ares alone. To obviously magical to carry around mortal hunters.

She took out the celestial bronze throwing knives, each sharp enough to cut through bone, but no longer than the palm of her hand. Monster attacks may have lessened on the camps, but individual demigods were still at risk. Her bow and its' quiver of arrows was also left inside. But she did take out an imperial gold dagger, its handle carved from the bone of a drakon. At camp she had asked Beckendorf to plate it in a duller steel, so that the weapon would be less flashy. The only problem was that it could harm both mortals and monsters. But on the road with mortal hunters, it was perfect.

Finally she lifted out her xiphos; a sword with a leaf like blade styled the same as the ancient warriors of Greece. Eleos. It translated to mercy in greek. The blade was beautiful, four metals running through it in a mesmerizing pattern. Black stygian iron, shining silver from the Hunt, bright imperial gold and the earthy celestial bronze. A weapon that could kill anything, mortal, immortal, supernatural or mythological. The blade was four feet of bad ass, the leather she had wrapped around the hilt worn and familiar in her hand.

She sheathed Eleos into the scabbard that straps to her back, hooked the katana onto a belt and dug out the straps for all twelve of her throwing knives. She also removed the perfectly mortal weaponry she owned, including an extendable baton and a pair of brass knuckles, although those were made from imperial gold. She found tangled in a heap at the bottom of the trunk in a crushed velvet bag the retractable claws Bast had gifted her after the disaster with Ptolemy's crown. Anna slide each one on, the cool weight of the metal reminding her that she was as Dean had put it semi active.

Anna flinched when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called, hastily shoving her weapons under the bed.

"Blu, it's me. I brought you what you asked for." Came Nico's quiet voice. She heard Jess's muffled voice through the door.

"Who are you?" Anna quickly replaced the tray in the trunk and slammed the lid shut. The swords and knives hidden by her sheets she raced to the front door just as Nico began to introduce himself.

"Little brother!" she called out cheerily, yanking Nico down into a hug. Nico looked shocked.

"Stick to Blu or Anna. The mortals don't know my name Nico." She whispered. Letting Nico up, she invited them both inside.

"Jess this is Nico, my little brother. Nico this is my friend Jessica." Jess smiled at Nico, looking confused.

"Hi Nico..." Jess trailed off. Anna winced. Two surprise reunions in the same weekend. And Anna never talked about her family. She was even more close lipped about them than Sam was. Not even counting the fact that they look nothing alike. They both have dark hair, but that was where the resemblance ended.

"Blu and I grew up together. Orphan's lot and all." Nico said, a smile pasted across his face. Anna smirked. If anyone from Camp Half Blood could see him now they would fall over. Even when happy Nico didn't sound cheery. But Anna knew better, he was quite the actor when he needed to be.

"Yeah, the Ghost King and I go back a long ways." She ruffled his hair affectionately. Jess laughed.

"So it isn't just Sam you do that too huh?" Nico scowled as he smoothed his hair back into place. He lifted a bag with the camp logo emblazoned on it.

"I'm just dropping this off. We may have added more to it than what you asked for. A care package if you would. I gotta go Blu, Will has some sort of surprise for me." Anna kissed Nico on the cheek before sending him out the door.

She dropped the bag with a gentle clank on the floor of her bedroom. She poured Jess a mug of box wine and sat down on the couch with her friend.

"So... Blu?" Jess snickered. Anna smiled indulgently.

"It's a long story. And honestly it's embarrassing." She scratched her head absently. Jess nodded, her smile falling away to reveal her concern. Anna reached over to give her friend a quick hug.

"I'm worried about Sam. I haven't heard from him all weekend, and his brother? What was up with him? I understand that they haven't seen each other in a long time and that their dad is missing but breaking in through a window? In the middle of the night? Then Sam drops everything to go looking for their dad? I'm just worried." Jess abruptly took several long swallows from her glass. Anna serenely sipped from her own glass of cheap wine. She twisted her lips as she stares into the red liquid.

"I don't know why I buy this wine. I never like it. But every time I go to the store, I end up buying the same disgusting cheap wine. My uncle is a bit of a wine connoisseur." Anna adds as she contemplates the terrible wine. Jess looks at her confused. Putting her mug into her lap, she smiles lightly at her friend.

"Family is the same way. No matter how many times you're disappointed by it, you can't help but be drawn back into buying it again and again. I can't say much about Sam and his family, but it always sounded like they don't approve of his choices. If he can prove to them that he is better than them, he thinks it will make him happier." She smiled at Jess over her glass.

"It sucks for Sam, and it sucks for you. But remember that at the end of this weekend he comes home to you." Jess raised her glass in toast.

"I suppose I can drink to that. I just wish he would pick up the phone." The two women clink their cups together and drink the terrible boxed wine.


	9. Chapter 9

_Anna_

_"Isolde! Wake up!"_

Anna bolted upright in her bed, her father's voice echoing urgently through her head. She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. It was ten thirty at night. A strange feeling crawled along the pit of her stomach. She quickly got dressed, pulling on jeans and a t shirt. She had repacked Nico's care/quest package/supplies into a backpack; the camp bag folded carefully and left inside the steamer trunk. She picked up the backpack and pulled out the steamer trunk. All her important belongings packed up and ready to leave. Her phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked quietly.

"Anna? It's Dean, you gotta come to Sammy's apartment. I have a bad feeling."

"I'm on my way."


	10. Chapter 10

_Anna_

By the time Anna had gotten out of bed and driven her Ducati Monster towards Sam's apartment, she had heard the sirens. Revving the engine she drove every shortcut she could take, legal or not.

She pulled up next to the Impala, she watched Dean drag Sam out of the building as a fireball blew out the windows in his apartment. She got off the bike, abandoning her bag. Both swords were wrapped tightly and stapped along the side of the motorcycle.

"Jess!" Sam's voice broke when Anna ran up next to him. She glanced up at the building in flames. She saw a dark shadow swoop out one of the windows.

 _'Demon.'_  she thought to herself.

"Was she still in..." Anna couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Dean nodded quietly. Suddenly Sam went still. People poured out of the building as Dean and Anna stood and watched it burn. Sam walked back to the car, opening the trunk sorting through the weapons.

* * *

_Dean_

"Guess I'm not retired anymore." She said quietly. Dean looked at her in surprise.

Anna's eyes had gone cold, a pain he barely understood reflected in the inferno that billowed out the building. Dean was a little afraid of the empty expression on her face. The it contorted into a fierce and tightly controlled rage.

"Great." he managed to stammer out. The anger in her eyes was not something he had seen very often, mostly in his father's eyes when on the trail of the thing that killed Mary Winchester. He followed her back to his car, where he saw a black and blue Ducati parked. Stenciled in dark grey he could just make out on the side of the seat

_Kill'em dead, then do it again Blu - death boy_

_'What the hell?'_  He thought.

Two long packages were strapped to the side of the bike and when he reached out to check them out Anna smacked his hand away. She looked from him to his brother meaningfully. Dean sighed and rounded the Impala. Sam checked one more gun before tossing it into the trunk.

"We've got work to do."


	11. Chapter 11

_Anna_

Anna had the boys follow her back to her apartment.

"Just a few more nights before Sam and I destroy our respective degrees." She joked. In reality she planned to look for the fire demon; the thing that not only was her quest, but was the monster that had killed her friend.

She revved her engine then took off, the Impala rumbling behind her. Anna took a minor detour before going to her apartment. She pulled up to a quiet neighborhood park. She shoved her shoulder against a dumpster behind the tennis courts, shifting it enough to drag out the trunk she had hidden earlier that weekend. With quests one could never be too careful. When she approached the car with the trunk Dean got out of the car.

"What is that?" He asked. Anna looks up at him.

"Everything." She replied. They hauled the trunk to the car and then with Dean in the lead, they drive back to her apartment.


	12. Chapter 12

_Dreams_

_" Ife, you must always remember that what you are, where you come from is dangerous." Her father, with his kind eyes sat next to her in their car. He was stroking her hair gently._

_""But Abba, we are more dangerous, right? When bad things come, we make them go away." She said, her voice small and sweet. She was six years old again._

_""Yes Ife. We are dangerous to bad things. But bad things are still very dangerous. And many things that aren't bad will not understand you. My lovely Isolde one day you will understand. When you meet your mother, Ife, you must remember that you cannot tell others where you come from. Promise me Ife."_

_"I promise Abba."_


	13. Chapter 13

_Anna_

Anna parked her bike. Carrying the long packages that hid her swords she showed Dean and Sam into the apartment.

"Sara and Danny have decided to spend some more time at Danny's apartment. You boys can borrow my room, I'll take the couch." Both men immediately protested.

"Anna we can't turn you out of your bed; you're already coming out of retirement for us. Take your bed." Sam insisted. Anna smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Short Stuff, I have an expanded bed in my room. You boys can share a bed, and I fit on that couch. My house, my rules." Dean snorts at Anna's grossly inaccurate nickname for his younger brother. He'd carried in the steamer trunk from the car. Setting it down he leaned against the wall.

"Sweetheart, we're about to run you deeper into the ground than you've gone since you retired, how many years ago? Four? Maybe more. Don't give us your bed." Anna resolutely crossed her arms.

" _Semi_  retired." She said. Dean looks at her in confusion.

"Come again?"

"I semi retired about year ago. I didn't stop entirely. I just couldn't go on hunts the way I used to anymore. And Dean, I took you in Sam's kitchen the other day. I could do it again. Retired is dead boys." Dean looked confused as Sam's jaw dropped.

"But you're a double major... with minors... how the hell are you graduating this year?" Sam asked, the topic both confusing and mundane enough to help him get his mind off the fact that his clothing still smelled like smoke.

"Short stuff, I worked my ass off last year and all summer. It's how we met; remember?" Sam swallowed dryly. She gave him a sympathetic smile. She moved into the kitchen and brought out three glasses.

"I think tonight calls for top shelf, Short Stuff." She ruffled Sam's hair as she walked into her room. Dean and Sam exchanged glances.

"Short Stuff?" Dean sniggered. Sam shrugged.

"We aren't actually going to take her bed right?" Sam asked, ignoring his brother. Dean scoffed.

"No." Before Sam said anything else, Anna remerged with a bottle of an amber liquid. She poured liberal portions for each before capping it.

"Jess." She said quietly.

"Jess." Sam echoed. Dean just lifted his glass. They all took a sip. Anna relished the warm burn of her father's whiskey as it went down. She took the bottle and added it to the her trunk. She took another sip of the whiskey.

"I'm going to go make a phone call. More booze in that cabinet. Laundry machine is in that closet, bathroom is down that hall. Make yourselves at home." She pointed as she directed the boys around the apartment. Dean nodded as Sam seemed to get lost in the amber depths of his glass.

"Where did you get this whiskey?" Dean asked before she stepped out of the room. She paused, looking back at him. Her expression was completely blank, covering the raging wildfire of both painful and positive emotions his question unleashed.

"My father."


	14. Chapter 14

_Dean_

Dean watched her leave the room, closing the door gently. He started towards her trunk. Pulling out his lock picks, he started to work on the padlock.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? She said this was everything. We know next to nothing about this chick. You told me you met her over the summer. We've got to know if we can trust her. Besides she hid the really good booze inside." Sam shook his head in disappointment.

"I don't know that much about her; but Anna is good people. Leave it alone." Dean gritted his teeth, the tumblers refusing to budge. He steadfastly worked on the lock, ignoring his brother. Sam sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but I am going to shower. I don't want to smell like smoke anymore." Sam left the room. Dean kept going on the lock.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Dean instinctively lashes out. A small, olive toned hand catches his fist in a surprisingly strong grip. What looks like a eighteen year old kid with black floppy hair and dark eyes is glaring at him. Something about the kid is unsettling.

"Nico?" Anna walks into the room after him. The kid turns around, a guilty look flashing across his face. It eases the tension that had begun to condense in his stomach. Dean stands up quickly, shoving his lock picks back into his pocket.

"Blu, why are there  _*Θνητός_  hunters stinking of smoke in your apartment?" The kid asked quietly.

"Nico, what are you doing here? I just hung up with...' Anna glanced at Dean, ' _Mr. Brunner_. He was going to send someone from Reyna's side of the family to pick it up."

"I came to check in with you. You're supposed to be  _retired_. I don't want you dragged back into everything just because Mr. Brunner is paranoid! You could die Blu!" Nico looked angry while Anna looked sad. Dean felt as though he was intruding on something private.

He also didn't miss that they were having two conversations at once, one of which Dean was not supposed to understand. It was also the exact opposite conversation he recently had with his own brother. Dean shifted his feet uncomfortably.

*"This is my responsibility Nico, and you know it.  _E tornato, Nico. I demoni cammineranno oltre il velo se non li fermo. Questi sono bravi uomini, anche per i cacciatori. Gli dei l'hanno decretato, quindi deve essere fatto. Non ho altra scelta."_  Anna switched to another language, her mouth smoothly rolling over the rhythmic syllables of the foreign language.

 _*"Morirai._ " Nico said shortly. Anna shrugged, and stepped forward, hugging the kid.

*"I know Nico. I've accepted it a long time ago.  _Ti amo piccolo fratellino._ " Nico returned Anna's hug tightly.

*" _Ti amo grande sorella. Stai attento._ " Nico released Anna. He marched across the room to where Dean still stood.

"You," Nico stabbed a finger into Dean's chest. "You keep my sister alive you hear? Last time she ran with  _Θνητός_  hunters she almost died. I don't want to bury another member of my family." Dean was nodded.

_'Sister?'_

Anna's eyes were an icy grey, sharp and clear in her tanned face. Nico's were so dark they were nearly black; and they were angry in his olive toned skin. Her hair was a warm dark brunette with large natural curls, while Nico's was straight and black. The only resemblance he could find was the way they moved. They both behaved like predators. Fluid, powerful, dangerous. Alert, wary and careful. But he recognized the same protective instinct burning in both of their eyes. It was the same one he had whenever he'd driven up to California to make sure not a single monster, ghost, ghoul, or other creature of the night got within a hundred miles of his baby brother. The same one that he wore now, as he was desperate to find his dad, and to protect Sammy from the demon that had killed their mom, and Sammy's girlfriend. He nodded at the kid.

"I get it kid. I'll take care of her." Nico nodded and picked up the trunk before walking out the door without looking at Anna again. Anna's expression crumpled at the angry dismissal from her brother. He recognized that look too. He'd worn it every time the door had opened and it wasn't Sam walking his lanky ass back through it after he had left. Or every time his phone rings and it's not his dad on the other side of the line.

"He and I adopted each other. That's why we don't look anything alike." She answered his silent question before walking into her room without a backwards glance. Dean slumped into the couch, empty whiskey glass in hand.

He ran a hand over his face.

_'What the hell have Sammy and I gotten ourselves into?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> *mortal
> 
> (Greek)
> 
> *It has returned Nico. Demons will walk beyond the veil if I don't stop them. The gods have decreed it, so must be done. I have no other choice.  
> *You will die  
> *I love you little brother  
> *I love you big sister. Be careful.
> 
> (Italian)


	15. Chapter 15

_Anna_

Anna strapped Eleos onto her back, sliding the scabbard strap over her leather riding jacket. Her backpack was repacked into a saddle bag, where she left most of her weapons. Anything she couldn't fit onto the bike she left behind. She followed Dean across the country, empty roads letting them both race down the highway at speeds that would have given Nico grey hairs and an ulcer. Dean flashed his warning lights at her as they approached a gas station once they crossed into Colorado. Anna pulled in behind Dean. She spotted Sam fast asleep in the front seat.

"Where are we headed again?" Anna asked as she pulled off her helmet, shaking out her hair. She checked her fuel levels as she talked. Her bike had been a gift from Nico when she had decided to go to Stanford for college. He'd had Leo modify it so that it used almost no gas, and so that it was insanely comfortable. But she  _had_  just driven it across three states almost nonstop. She was ready to stretch her legs, and she probably needed  _some_ gas. But when she checked, to her surprise, the tank was still mostly full. Anna decided to top it off anyways. If she didn't it would look suspicious. Dean leaned against his car as he filled his own tank.

"Blackwater Ridge; it's where the coordinates left by our dad lead." Anna nodded. She paid for her gas and checked on her bag. She reached behind her to touch Eleos, the weight both intimately familiar and completely foreign.

"What is that?" Dean nodded to Eleos. Anna reached back to touch her sword again.

"An old friend." Anna patted the sheath lovingly. Dean just looked confused.

"She's a last resort. For most beasties I've got my .45s." Anna reached around to the small of her back, where her modified pistols lived. Dean nodded. He showed her a matching set of Colt M1911A1's. Anna laughed a little when she saw them.

"What?"

"Nothing, just that you boys are the Winchesters, and my last name is Colt. We're a human gun show." Dean smirked a little before he got back in his car. Anna swung her leg back over the seat of her bike, securely tugging her helmet back over her head. The Impala rumbled to life and Anna's bike followed it back onto the open road.


	16. Chapter 16

_Anna_

Anna and the boys pulled up to the ranger station and head inside. The interior was cluttered with various pictures and maps, a lamp perched on haphazardly stacked paperwork. Anna and Sam both headed to look at a large scale map as Dean prowled around the room.

So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote, its cut off by these canyons here; rough terrain, dense forests and abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." Anna said thoughtfully as she traced her hands over the raised ridges of the topographical map.

"Dude check out the size of this freaking bear." Dean was staring at a trophy shot of a mortal game hunter with a massive grizzly. Anna made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. After having met Lady Artemis and her hunters, she lost all respect for mortal game hunters. Fat, rich men looking for bought glory, it was a dishonor to the Hunt.

"Aaand, a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." Sam added as he joined his brother by the picture.

"It's no nature hike, that's for sure." Anna muttered. She stiffened when she heard the heavy tread of a man behind her.

"You kids aren't planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" A gravelly voice asked. Dean and Sam turned around. Anna kept studying the map in front of her. She glanced at some of the paperwork that seemed to have spilled everywhere. The top sheet was a note about how a Haley Collins believed her brother Tommy was missing in the park. It was recent.

"Oh, no sir. We're just environmental studies majors from UC Boulder. Just working on a paper." Sam lied.

"Recycle man." Dean pumped his fist awkwardly at the ranger. Anna ignored to two idiots, continuing to study the map in front of her. Saying nothing meant she could choose her cover when she was ready. Her mind raced as she picked through plans and ideas.

"Bull." Anna finally glances up at the boys. Dean and Sam look nervous, glancing at each other. She rolled her eyes. Most people aren't completely stupid, and Sam was a terrible liar. Anna decided to continue saying nothing.

"You're friends with that Haley girl right?" The ranger paces behind Anna. She looks back at the ranger. He is a grizzled old man, a half drained cup of coffee in his hand. She glanced back down at the report. Haley... brother is missing. Anna got her facts straight before she turned around, her face arranged in an appropriately concerned expression.

"Yes sir. We're just worried about Tommy, Ranger..." Anna peered at the worn badge, 'Wilkinson." Dean and Sam nod in agreement as the Ranger walks closer to the boys.

"Well, I am going to tell you lot exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty fourth. So it's not exactly a missing persons now is it?" He asked, not unkindly. Dean shook his head in agreement.

"Now tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother is just fine." The ranger started to walk away. Anna quietly folded the report Haley Collins had filled out. The information on it would be useful.

"We will." Dean agreed. Anna's stomach sank at the look on his face. He continued.

"Well that Haley girl's quite the pistol huh?" The ranger looked up, and sighed.

"That's putting it mildly."

"Actually, you what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know so that she could see her brothers return date." The ranger thought for a moment before giving in. As soon as Dean had the permit in hand the three of them left quickly.

Dean laughed in triumph as they headed to the car. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.

"What are you, cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam huffed in irritation.

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge. What are we waiting for? Lets just go find dad. I mean why even talk to this girl?" Sam asked as he rounded the car. Dean shrugged at his brother.

"I dunno maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it." He gave his brother a  _duh_  type of shrug. Anna laughed quietly as she strapped her helmet back on over her head. Sam glared at her.

"What?" he snapped. She shook her head.

"I'm staying out of this one Short Stuff. I'll see you boys at the Collins house." She roared out of the drive, gravel spinning out from under her tires.

* * *

"How does she know the address? I have the permit. She didn't even look at it..." Dean asked, bewildered. Sam just shrugged at his brother before getting into the car.


	17. Chapter 17

_Anna_

The bar was full for a backcountry town. Sam and Dean huddled over his computer. Anna was at the pool table. She was trying to keep her distance from Sam's laptop. She'd already had to kill a Cyclops in the backroom and wasn't looking to attract more monsters. Dean kept shooting glances at her as she giggled and flirted with men at least twice her age. Wallets vanished into her quick hands, or men lost to her playing pool. The geometry of the game deceptively easy for the child of Athena, she made quick work all while giving off enough alluring hints that the men half convinced themselves they'd let her win just for a chance at her ass. Hermes would be so proud. Anna froze for a moment; what if he was watching? Even the laid back messenger god doesn't do favors for free. Then a sweaty hand swiped towards her ass that she managed to avoid by sinking the final ball; winning several hundred dollars. The men groaned about lucky shots while beer sloshed out of glasses held in drunken hands and leering at her chest.

_'Pigs.'_  She thought to herself. Finally Sam closed the laptop, waving her over.

"There is definitely something out there. Anna, in fifty nine' there was one survivor of these supposed grizzly attacks. We're about to check him out, you in?" She smirked, waving almost two thousand dollars in cash in front of her face.

"Let's go, I may have drained this town of its life savings." Dean laughed.

"Remind me to never bet against you." Sam commented dryly. Chairs scraped as Sam and Dean got up to follow Anna out the door.


	18. Chapter 18

_Anna_

Anna leaned against the Impala, her helmet tucked her her arm.

"So what are you going to tell Haley? She's going to know you two aren't rangers once we show up together." Dean shrugged. But when she pulled up to the trailhead, no one seemed to question her presence. Roy, the guide made a couple snide comments to the boys but then everyone set off into the woods single file. A few hours in Haley turned around and confronted Dean about their shoddy cover. Anna snickered.

"I told you so." She muttered as she stepped around Dean. By the time they'd gotten to the ridge, Anna decided she thoroughly disliked the arrogant guide.

"I'm going to take a look around." Roy sneered as he walked away. The rest of the group stuck together continuing to walk in a loose clump, looking for signs of the missing Collins sibling.

"Hey! Over here!" Roy's voice echoed through the trees. They all ran towards him only to find the completely destroyed campsite. Tents in tatters and blood sprayed in many places, it looked like a massacre. The entire group spread out. Sam stopped Haley from shouting for tommy.

"Whatever did this was might still be out there." He warned.

"Sam! Anna!" Dean called. The two exchanged a look before hurrying away from the ruined campsite.

"They were dragged from the campsite. But here the tracks just vanish. I'll tell you what, it's no skin walker or black dog." Dean walks away from the tracks, frustrated. Sam follows his brother. Anna examines the trail more carefully, looking for anything Dean missed. She kept going for only another dozen paces before she also loses the trail. She swore as she followed the Winchester brother back to the campsite. Suddenly a man screams for help. Everyone races away toward the voice desperately crying for help. Crashing through the branches Anna draws one of her guns as she comes to a stop in a clearing with everyone else. Roy cocked his rifle.

"It seemed like it came from around here didn't it?" Haley asked. Nothing but the wind could be heard. Anna slowly turns, the feeling of being hunted crawling down her spine.

"Everybody back to camp." Sam ordered. He lead the group at a quick pace, but when they came back to the clearing Haley, Roy and Ben's packs were missing. Anna gripped her own lightweight backpack tightly, grateful she hadn't taken it off. Inside was all her money, extra weapons and clothing but most importantly it carried a thermos of nectar and a tupperware container of ambrosia. Food of the gods. She couldn't afford to lose it; not on a quest this dangerous. Not when dealing with creatures from the veil.

"What the hell is going on?" Haley asked.

"It's smart, it wants to cut us off. So we can't call for help." Sam said, thinking out loud.

"You mean someone. Some, nut job out there stole all our gear." Roy said. Anna worried the glass prism around her neck. Sam walked over to her and Dean.

"Can I speak with you two? In private." He says shortly before walking away. Anna and Dean exchange worried looks before following him. They follow him a bit away from the camp.

"Let me see dad's journal." Dean handed Sam a worn leather journal that he quickly rifles through. 'Alright, check that out." He turned the book around to show them a rough tribal sketch of a wendigo.

"Come on wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west before." Dean tried to dismiss his younger brother.

"Dean we deal with the impossible, and to be honest, wendigo makes sense. What else do you know that can mimic the human voice like that? With those kind of claw marks?" Anna pointed out.

"Great. Well then this is useless." Dean groans, gesturing with his gun. Anna holsters her own pistol. She sighed.

"Well, I suppose you two will get to meet my old friend much sooner than I thought." She smoothly unsheathed Eleos, twisting the blade so that each of the different metals caught the light. A divot in between the fused Stygian iron and celestial bronze was shadowed.

"I don't suppose either of you have anything flammable now do you?"


	19. Chapter 19

_Anna_

Anna crouched down, tracing out protective symbols into the dirt. She couldn't help herself but the reach for Eleos, the weight of her blade a cheap comfort when dealing with Sam's overly brash behavior and Roy's obnoxious arrogance. Haley and Ben huddled next to the crackling fire Dean had started. Brushing off her dirt covered knees, she headed to the center of camp. She walked back into the circle of firelight just as Roy let out a mean spirited chuckle when Dean explained what the symbols were to Haley again.

"No one likes a skeptic Roy." Anna chided as she stood near the warmth of the flames. She watched Dean go over to Sam, his mouth set in a determined line. Haley stood next to her, observing the boys.

"Look I don't really know what is going on, but those boys could probably use you. Go over there." Anna looked at Haley.

"I don't know. They're having some stresses, family things I'm not apart of. I'm just along for the ride." Anna shrugged. Haley bumped her shoulder gently.

"Well along for the ride or not, you and those boys look like a unit. All the glances you three trade, the silent communication. You're a team. And your team needs you. Tommy needs your team. We, me and Ben, need that team. So please, go over there and rescue those boys from themselves." Anna's mouth twisted into a wry smile.

"I think the world undervalues people like you Haley Collins. When this is over, I'm going to leave you a phone number. If you ever want to do some good for the world, call it." Haley nodded as Anna made her way over to Sam and Dean.

"Dean. No. I gotta find dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about." Anna sits next to Sam, and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Okay." Dean looks down as he thinks. Anna silently listens, trying to support her friend.

"Alright Sam, we'll find them I promise. But Sam listen to me. You've got to prepare yourself. This search could take a while. And all that anger, you can't keep it burning for the long haul. It's going to kill you. You gotta have patience man." Sam shakes his head.

"How do you do it? How does dad do it?" He asks, his grief suddenly pouring off his shoulders, temporarily released from the mask of anger he'd been hiding behind.

"Anna how do you do it?" He asks suddenly.

"How did you stay so calm and in control when Jess died, when you were forced to retire? When you buried your family? How do you do this?" Sam asked hopelessly. Anna glanced at Dean. He made a little gesture with his hands, as if to say go ahead. She sighed, picturing the disaster she had been when her father had died. Before she'd been sent to Camp Half Blood, before she'd found her family.

"Sam, I don't. I'm not calm, and I'm so rarely in control. But it's things like them" she nodded towards the Collins siblings by the fire, 'saving people, helping people. It makes the hurt of losing people bearable. Sam I can act calm and in control because I have something else to focus on. We are going to kill this fucker, and the one after that and the one after that. And I find, that one way or another I make my way to the S.O.B I actually wanted to kill. It's all helps." She leaned back a little.

"But short stuff, the most important part is something I already did. I let myself grieve. Yeah I'm angry and sad, but I already let it out. I spent a week crying for my friend. But now I'm ready to work. And you can't work without a clear head. Otherwise you get everyone else killed." Sam wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into his solid form. Dean gave her a small nod.

"Help me!" A man started to shout in the distance again. The three hunters shot up to their feet. Sam shone a flashlight around them, even as Roy cocked his gun. Anna tightened her lips to prevent commenting. She slowly drew her sword. Standing in a loose circle, Dean reminded everyone to stay inside the protection of the symbols.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy quipped even as the voice continued to scream for help. The trees rusted around them, and the tension mounted. A loud snarl was heard before the shouts cut off. Haley pulled Ben behind her, reassuring her younger brother.

"It's here." Anna said as the wendigo snarled just outside the protection of their campsite. Roy fired a shot into the bushes. He waited before shooting again, and again. A loud squeal could be heard.

"I hit it." He said before running into the woods.

"Roy, no!" Dean yelled even as the older man vanished into the trees. The boys bolted into the trees.

"Don't move." Anna warned before following them.

"Roy! Roy!" Dean shouted even as Anna and Sam followed him. But they all knew it was too late. Dejected they made their way back to camp.


	20. Chapter 20

_Anna_

The next morning found Anna and Dean sleeping next to each other. Anna had continued to sit with him even after her watch was over, unable to leave him to watch for the wendigo alone. She blinked awake as the morning light filtered through the trees. Dean's soft snores ruffled the hair that was curled next to her ear, where his mouth was hovering very close to. Anna shook him awake.

"Come on, I'll bet Haley has some questions for you." Dean grumbled but followed Anna back to the center of camp anyways.

"Morning short stuff." Anna stood on a tree stump to reach the top of his hair, but she managed to reach high enough to ruffle his hair. Sam smiled at her.

"Come check the perimeter with me?" Anna nodded before following Sam out into the woods. They made a slow circle around the campsite. But just like before it was as though the tracks just suddenly ended. Anna scrubbed her hand over her eyes.

"Let's go back to camp, get the others. Now that it's daylight, it should be easier to track it." Sam nodded and followed her back to camp.


	21. Chapter 21

_Anna_

"How does someone go from being a man, to one of these  _things_?" Haley asks.

"It's always the same, during some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help." Anna starts as she digs through what remains of the group's supplies. The night before she had shared the few protein bars she had inside her bag, keeping the ambrosia hidden. She frowns at the punctured container of gas. Dean picked up where she left off.

"He becomes a cannibal, eating members of his own party to survive." He twists at the top of another can. Ben turns towards Sam.

"Like the Donner party." A statement of fact in an unpleasant situation. Dean nods at the kid as Anna stands up brushing dirt off her pants.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives you certain abilities; speed strength, immortality." Sam continues the explanation of wendigos to the Collins siblings.

"If you eat enough of it, over the years you become this less than human, thing. Always hungry." Anna finished. Haley looked dejected.

"Well if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" She asked. The three hunters exchange glances.

"You're not going to like it." Anna said gently.

"Tell me." Haley insisted. The three of them exchange a nervous glance before Anna gestures to Dean to continue as she paced off the perimeter again, still listening to the conversation.

"More than anything a wendigo knows how to survive long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive; it stores them. So it can feed whenever it wants." Haley and Ben look sickened. Anna finds a can with just a little gas left. She carefully pours the flammable liquid into the divot in Eleos. Anna wished she had brought the jar of greek fire with her, no matter how questionable the green flames would have been. She walks back toward the group.

"If your brother is still alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe." He nods to Anna and Sam.

"We gotta track it back there."

"And how to we stop it?" Haley's jaw gets the same stubborn set Anna had seen to many times in battle. When young demigods get their first taste of what is out there, get a feel for the responsibility their lineage left them with.

_'I'm definitely leaving her with a line to Hylla.'_  Anna thought.

"Well guns are useless, so are knives." Dean says, then holds up two unlit Molotov cocktails. 'Basically, we've got to torch the sucker."

* * *

They walk single file into the woods, following the claw marks in the trees. Dean and Sam both carry the Molotov's. When Dean tried to get her to carry his, she'd refused, unsheathing Eleos instead.

"That won't work Anna." Dean growled at her. Anna just smiled.

"I've been hunting since I could walk. Trust me when I say my baby can kill anything." She marched away, giving the oldest Winchester no choice but to follow.

"These claw marks so clear and distinct, there almost to easy  _to_  follow." Sam breathed, when they paused in a clearing. Anna got a strange sensation on the back of her neck. She reached for the lighter in her pocket. She flicked it open, ready to light the oil she'd poured into her blade. Dean glanced down at her hand when a loud snarl came from behind them. She brought the flame closer to Eleos. The bushes rustled with the speed of the wendigo's passing. They turned, trying desperately to find it.

Suddenly Haley screamed. Anna jumped and turned around. Roy's body came crashing to the ground. Sam and Anna hauled Haley to her feet. Dean examined Roy's body.

"His neck is broken. Everybody, go go go!" He herded the whole group back towards the safety of their protective circle. Anna lit her blade. The entire group sprinted through the trees. Anna circled them as best she could, but her stamina was sorely hindered by her year and a half of semi retirement. Flanking Dean and Haley she pulled up short when the wendigo showed itself. Haley screamed as Anna advanced on the tall monster. Mottled grey green skin stretched over a skeletal monster that was at least eight feet tall. Fingers that turned into wicked sharp talons slashes for her face. She leaned under the assault and slashed forward with Eleos, the flames burning brightly. Anna knew if she didn't kill it soon, she would lose, already the fire dying down as it ran out of fuel. If she used Eleos without flame, it would disintegrate from the godly metal, and bring questions she couldn't answer. Dean fumbled with the cocktail trying to light it as he and Haley dodged and ran. Anna sliced into its arm, removing two fingers just as the flames died completely. The bottle smashed against the ground as Haley knocked into Dean. Anna ducked and rolled away. The flames that had burned brightly for the last couple minutes were gone.

"Awww shit." Anna said dropping Eleos. The blade would always return to the sheath, and the sheath couldn't be removed against her will. Eleos was safe. Then she saw nothing but black.


	22. Chapter 22

_Sam_

Sam raced toward where he had heard Haley scream, Ben following close behind.

"Haley!" Sam picked up the shattered remains of the unlit Molotov. He noticed the scorch marks in the shape of a blade burned into the trees. A sick feeling gathered in the pit of his stomach, joining the burning anger he couldn't tame over Jessica's death.

"Dean! Anna!" He yells.


	23. Chapter 23

Dreams

_"Good Ife. Shoulders back, lunge, parry, roll." Abba looked so proud of her as Isolde worked through her paces. She steadily whacked at the fence post, the sword too long and too heavy in her small hand. But when she hit the post at the wrong angle the sword twisted from her hands, clattering along the ground. She sat down hard._

_"Abba I'll never be as good as you are!" She huffed, folding her small arms across her chest. Her father sat down next to her, tucking her under his arm._

_"*_ Bavajadas _. Nonsense. I'm so proud of you Ife, you learn so quickly. You use my sword to train so it's harder. Isolde you will be a great warrior one day. But today you must learn to be great tomorrow." Her father spoke quietly, ladino phrases rolling off his tongue. He insisted that she learn languages her whole life but when it came to encouragement he stuck to basics, the words his grandparents used when he was a boy._

 _"Abba, I wish tomorrow would come faster. I want to be a *_ laoch mó _r, like you!" She squealed. Her father ruffled her hair._

_"One day Ife, you will be an even greater warrior than I."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nonsense in ladino
> 
> *warrior in gaelic


	24. Chapter 24

_Anna_

Anna felt hands tapping her face.

"Anna! Anna!" She slowly blinked her eyes open. Her arms were tied over her head, leaving her back aching and her shoulders burning from the strain. Sam's worried face swam in front of her. She tried to smirk at him, but the skin on her cheek pulled and a bright flash of pain stopped her.

"Cut me down Short Stuff." She muttered. Suddenly the ground was rushing up under her but someone caught her before she hit the ground. Her leg throbbing she half limped half dragged her protesting body to the wall, sliding down next to Dean. She glanced down, peering through the blood that had trickled over her eye. Her hip was torn open, close to where old scars from the arena were hidden. It wasn't bleeding much, but her leg still look like someone had took a meat grinder to it. She leaned back against the damp stone as Haley was cut down. Dean grunts, trying to clear his throat.

"You ok?" Anna nodded as she concentrated. She pushed herself to her feet, stumbling towards their packs. She dug through her bag, carefully taking only a tiny corner of ambrosia, stuffing it into her mouth. A warm feeling rushed through her, numbing the pain but not doing any obvious healing. The soft godly food tasted like the soup her father used to make when they had a chance to use a kitchen. She smiled a little before withdrawing her hand. She flexed her fingers, extending the metal claws on her fingers before retracting them. She leans against the wall, panting a little. The group looks at each other, each face grimy and bloody. Haley looks across the tunnel and gasps. Anna turns to see another victim hanging from the ceiling.

"Tommy. Tommy." Haley lets out little gasps as she starts to cry. She shrieks in shock when the man, Tommy, lifts his head. Anna tries to step forward but ends up sliding down the wall again.

"Cut him down." Haley orders. Sam takes out his knife and sawed through the rope, letting the other man down.

"Check it out." Dean stood up, and held out two dark objects. "Flare guns." Anna and Sam exchange a look. Sam smiles.

"Those will work."


	25. Chapter 25

_Anna_

Anna limped behind the Collins family, as Dean and Sam took point with the flare guns. They'd found more gasoline with the packs, so her sword was refueled, a zippo lighter at the ready. Eleos shone in the dull light of the mine shaft. A low growl echoed through the tunnel.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean quipped.

"We'll never outrun it." Haley said. Dean turns back to survey their ragged group. Anna shook her head slowly. She could barely keep up the slow walking pace they had going at the moment. She'd managed to sneak another small bite of ambrosia to help hurry her healing and to help stave off the pain. But taking anymore would  _actually_  heal her, which would expose her. No matter how much she likes the Winchester brothers so far, she doesn't trust them. She'd have to heal the old fashioned way until she could change her clothing to hide the healing wounds. Dean looks at Sam, some kind of silent communication flowing between the two brothers.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean asked Sam. Anna looked at him when he glanced back. She rolled her eyes when she recognized the martyr look she gotten used to seeing in Luke before he had gone dark side with Kronos. Then she learned to recognize it on Percy's face every time he lead half bloods into battle. Then on each and every one of her friends before charging into a fight. She'd even worn it a few times. She pursed her lips but didn't contest his plan.

"Yeah, I think so." Sam muttered. Dean took a deep breath as he shuffled away from the group.

"Alright, listen to me. Stay with Sam, he's going to get you out of here." He ordered.

"What are you going to do?" Haley asked. Anna slowly edged up to the front of the group. Dean just winked at her before walking down another branch of the mine. Anna followed him, slower, as Dean started to shouting insults at the wendigo. Anna rolled her eyes as she circled him, sweeping the dark corners and the deeper shadows of the mine.

"Yeah, that's right! Bring it on baby!" He roared, "I taste good!" His voice echoed down the shaft. Anna continued to watch his back, keeping her feet light and silent. Dean turned to glare at her.

"Anna go with Sammy." He ordered. Anna just smirked.

"No." She turned around and shouted down the shaft.

"We're right here bitch!" Her own voice echoed down the tunnel.

"Sam needs to rescue them on his own." Dean frowned even as he accepted her response. Starting down the tunnel again, the two of them shouted as loudly as they could. Another growl echoed through the tunnels. They looked at each other.

"We went down the wrong way." They heard the blast of a flare gun and Anna and Dean both took off down towards where they heard the wendigo. Anna lit the fuel in her sword, adrenaline fueling her. They came skidding to a stop just as the monster had cornered Sam and the Collins.

"Hey!" Dean shouted as he pulled the trigger. The flare hit the wendigo, center mass, but as it went up in flames it staggered towards Anna and Dean, snarling with its claws fully extended. Anna leapt forward, slashing down on the hunched over wendigo, taking its head in a single smooth stroke before it could reach either of them.

"Not bad huh?" Dean asked as they watched the corpse burn. Anna laughed.


	26. Chapter 26

_Anna_

Anna leaned against a tree as emergency services crawled around the ranger station. If any of the paramedics saw her, they'd force her into a hospital; and that was the last thing she wanted. She watched Sam help Ben give a statement about another grizzly attack. Dean and Haley chatted by the Impala. A medic walked up to Haley and the two siblings climbed into the ambulance with their brother Tommy. The police drive away and the flashing light begin to fade away as Anna limps back up to the brothers.

All three of them leaned up against the hood of the Impala.

"Man, I hate camping." Dean said. Sam nodded in agreement. Anna just hid her smile.

"Sam you know we're going to find dad right?"

"Yeah,' Sam nodded, 'but in the meantime. I'm driving." Anna laughed at the look of horror that spread across Dean's face.

"Let's get out of here Short Stuff." Anna nudged Dean in the ribs. After a long moment Dean tossed Sam the keys and the boys both slid into the Impala. Anna threw her leg over the saddle of her bike and tugged her helmet on. Sam flashed his lights at her and she waved.

She was ready to take on the veil.


	27. Chapter 27

_Anna_

Anna sighed as she mounted her bike. It had been a long, depressing case. And her throat was still sore from nearly drowning when she tried to save Lucas. The bike rumbled to life comfortingly under her, as she slid the visor of her helmet down.

Andrea and Lucas watched from the sidewalk as the Impala pulled away from the curb. Anna waved at the little boy that had been so instrumental in solving the case before doing the same. She followed Dean out of town, focusing on nothing but the road, the sky and wind as she zoomed down the interstate.


	28. Chapter 28

_Anna_

"It's just for a week or so. You can survive without me for a few days, right?" Anna laughed. Dean grumbled into the phone.

"We just got a case in Pennsylvania. Catasauqua. Join us as soon as you finish up with your friend. Sam is driving me nuts."

"Actually we're headed that direction anyways. I'll see you in a few days, maybe I'll catch the tail end of your case." Anna hung up and glanced at Percy.

"You're riding in the back. Blackjack can't carry my bike. Or land in the parking lot of a mall." Percy laughed at her.

"Is this the price of you doing me a favor?" Anna smirked.

"No this is a consequence of not being prepared for the holidays on time. The price is a favor, that I plan to cash in later." Percy groaned as he wrapped his arms around Anna's back. She kicked off the road and they raced up the interstate.


	29. Chapter 29

Dean

"Anna where are you?" Dean hissed into the phone. Sam leaned against the wall next to him, glancing warily around the airport.

"I found some trouble in Toledo, Ohio. You boys meet me there as soon as you wrap up this case." Came the distracted answer. Dean groaned and banged his head against the airport's wall as Anna hung up. He really didn't want to fly. Especially when he already knew it was going to crash. This was a very very very bad idea.


	30. Chapter 30

_Anna_

Anna watched Sam say goodbye to Becky. She'd been Anna's friend too, but unlike Sam, Anna hadn't kept in touch with their old school friends. So for most of the case she'd stayed away. Good thing she had too; the shapeshifter hadn't realized how close she was before it was too late. She felt a vicious satisfaction in having killed the thing. But their was also a lingering guilt with how easily she shot the monster wearing Dean's face. She glanced down at the paper in her hand, the headlines covered with the story about the 'serial killer' Dean Winchester, and his 'death'. Thinking about Dean dying made bile rise in her throat.

* * *

_Dean_

Dean watched Anna waiting by the corner, her bike idling. He walked up to her, glancing over his shoulder at Sam.

"I can't believe I'm not invited to my own funeral." Dean joked. Anna seemed to ignore him completely. She focused on the newspaper article in her hand, the headlines screaming the death of a suspected serial killer, Dean's picture plastered across the front page.

"Well that was a shitty case." Anna muttered, making a three clawed hand over her heart, before pushing it away. She tossed the newspaper back onto the driveway she'd stolen it from. Dean pretended not to notice that she made that gesture did that whenever she worried about something.


	31. Chapter 31

_Sam_

Anna's eyes widened dramatically, her face paling. She let out a strangled scream and backed away from the door of Lynda Bloome's house, uncharacteristically tripping over her own feet as she moved. Sam took one look at her and quickly herds her away from the door even as Dean walked into the house, boots crunching over the dead bodies of hundred of spiders.

"Breathe Anna, breath." Sam instructed, even as he peered after his brother. Anna took short gasping breaths even as she stumbled back towards her bike.

"Go with Dean." She barely got the words out of her mouth before she leapt onto her bike, and with screeching tires, she drove away as quickly as she could. Sam watched her worriedly; concerned that in her panicked state she might crash on her bike. But once she was out of sight, he walked back into the house, a little surprised. Of all the things for his tough friend to be so afraid of, it was spiders? It was almost too normal, mundane.

"What was up with her?" Dean asked flippantly, even though Sam could read the concern on his brother's face. Sam shrugged, masking his own worries.

"She kinda looked like you did on the plane."

"Huh?" Sam smirked at his brother.

"Scared shitless." Dean scowled back.


	32. Chapter 32

_Anna_

"It's been six months Dianne. You've found nothing substantial while on the road with your mortal hunters. People are dying. It's time for you to go home."

"Fine. I'll be back in New York by the end of the week. Tell Chiron." Anna waved her hand through the rainbow, cutting off whatever the Roman praetor was about to say.

Anna sighed as she slumped back onto the cheap motel sheets. The Roman praetor had Iris messaged her about several demons that had rampaged through Sacramento. The fifth cohort had taken heavy damage. The camps needed a demon killer, a real one. Someone who can teach the next generation of demigods about the supernatural monsters, instead of just the mythological ones. She ran a hand over her face. She had no idea where to start, or where she was going with her quest. The veil was just what they called wherever the demons come from, no one actually knew  _what_  it was. She leaned back with a groan.

Dead end after dead end in their quest to find John Winchester, the only known mortal to have any substantial knowledge of the fire demon. It was the same demon she had spent most of her life tracking in one form or another. The very thing that made her qualified for this particular assignment.

She'd gotten far too comfortable in the routine she shared with the Winchester brothers. It started as nothing more than a means to an end, but then she learned more about the boys, became their friend, it was about the cases at time spent with them. It had become clear over the past few weeks that the Winchester family was the key to finding the fire demon. But all three of them were at a loss. It was time to move on.


	33. Chapter 33

_Anna_

Anna leaned up against the Impala, her bag at her feet. Dean slowly came down the steps of Jenny's house. She smiled at him.

"You doing ok?" She asked quietly. Mary Winchester had been surprise none of them had expected. Dean just stared into space, not ignoring her, but not really acknowledging her either.

Missouri, a psychic, had freaked Anna out, considering that Python still controlled Delphi, most premonitions were unreliable or fake. But this woman had been able to read her like an open book. After the boys left the room Missouri had warned her about the dangers of keeping hunters for company. Anna left quickly after that.

The psychic in question stepped out of the house, chatting quietly with Sam. Anna got the feeling that the woman was hiding something. But it wasn't her place to ask. Jenny carried out a box of photographs and mementos, left from when the boys had been small.

"Thanks for these." Dean said quietly, closing the box. Jenny just smiled, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Don't thank me, they're yours." Anna opened the trunk of the Impala. She took out the saddle bags she hadn't used for weeks. She moved her belongings from her duffle into the bike friendly bags. She carried them over to her Ducati.

"Sam you ready?" Dean called. Sam walked over to them. Anna placed her mostly empty duffle into the trunk of the Impala, slamming it shut.

"Don't you boys be strangers!" Missouri called out. Anna looked up and the psychic gave her a knowing look.

"You too Miss. Colt." Anna nodded as she tugged on her helmet.

"We won't." Dean assured her. Sam flashed a quick smile. Anna pulled down the dark visor of her helmet.

"See you around." Missouri stood in the yard as she watched them all pull away.


	34. Chapter 34

_Dean_

When they pulled onto the empty interstate Dean heard the revving of Anna's bike over the sound of Baby's engine. He glanced out the window in time to see her pull up next to them in the other lane. She raised her visor and mouthed something. Then slamming down the visor she roared ahead of them, only to do a tight turn. It was only as she passed them going in the other direction did Dean process what she had said.

_Goodbye_


	35. Chapter 35

_Anna_

Anna drove past Thalia's tree, stopping her bike at the crest of Half Blood Hill. She surveyed the place that had become her home over the past decade.

_'Home. It still sounds strange.'_

She shook herself. Pulling her helmet off her head she watched as Chiron cantered up the hill from the Big House. She smiled at him and began to roll her bike down the grass. She waved at the Stoll brothers who looked at her with some fear. The last time the brothers had tried to pull a prank on her she'd slipped hair removal cream into their shampoo, hair growth serum in their shaving cream and bribed the Aphrodite cabin into charming clown paint onto their faces for a month. Then she actively got every camper she could bribe or intimidate into doing some combination of dumb or elaborate pranks on them for the rest of the summer session. They never bothered her again. Hermes, instead of being angry, had been impressed and he'd gifted her with a magical scroll, that would take a message anyplace. It was a convenient tool on quests, but she had also been sworn to secrecy regarding its existence. The only times she used was to talk to the gods, Chiron or the egyptian nomes.

"Welcome home Dianne." Chiron said after she parked the bike next to Cabin 6. She smiled grimly at her mentor.

"It's nice to be back." She followed him towards the forges, where the clatter and clank of campers hard at work echoed. Nyssa immediately walks over.

"One day you're going to tell me who made your baby." Nyssa said by way of greeting. Anna just laughed and passed her Eleos.

"I'll tell you the same day you can craft her a sibling." Nyssa sighed dramatically. Chiron stood outside the forge, watching his pupils indulgently. Anna realized how unusual this peace must seem for him. For the better part of the last one hundred and fifty years, there had always been some major disaster that required the use of demigods as expendable pawns in the fate of the universe. Even as he trained the heroes, he hoped for them to never be called to battle. Anna suddenly felt guilty for the selfishness of her actions. She should have checked in earlier and found another way to hunt down the demons, instead of travelling from case to case with the Winchester's, risking the safety of the camps.

"Has Rachel gotten anything useful from the Grove? I need to go back out there. I need to follow the bodies the fire demon drops." Anna asked as she rejoined Chiron. They began to walk around camp, observing the campers going about day to day life. Even in springtime, camp was always full now.

"No. Nothing more than what we have had before. Locations where it has struck before. People it has affected." Anna nodded.

"Then I'll stay here for a little while. Rest, refuel and research a little. Nico brought my things?" Chiron nodded. Anna shrugged and continued. 'Then I have everything I need. If I can find a lead before Rachel or Ella great, if not I'll go wherever they direct me." Chiron sighed.

"Be careful Dianne. I know I asked this of you, but this creature is dangerous. Don't do anything rash." Anna nodded. She set off towards Cabin 6 as Chiron headed to the archery range for the mid morning lesson. She quietly opened the door. None of her siblings were in at the time which was nice, she didn't want to get talked into sharing her research; or be tempted into asking for help. She opened the steamer trunk, and removed a large bowl. She set it on one of the tables hidden by the book stacks she had set up by her bed. Next she removed an urn engraved with hieroglyphs. She poured the oil into the bowl. The hieroglyphs engraved around the rim flared with power. She glanced around guilty. She was about to indulge in some seriously dangerous hybrid magic.

"Bast?" Anna called quietly. The surface of the oil rippled gently before the face of the goddess appeared.

"Kitten? What are you doing? This is dangerous magic you are playing with! If the Pharaoh ever hears of this he is going to be so angry." The goddess vanished for a moment, as though she had gone to pace.

"Bast, I'm calling because it's an emergency. I need to know; since the Brooklyn Nome defeated Apophis have you had many problems with demons?" She asked, glancing behind her. Cabin 6 was still clear.

"No more than usual kitten. Although we have heard reports of other creatures rampaging. Those from beyond the veil. New monsters, ones that mortals can see. I've done what I could to keep it from Carter and Sadie, although now that Carter is Pharoah I don't know how much longer I can do that."

"Ok. I'll make a visit to you soon. There is trouble with the veil and I can't seem to track down the source." Bast growled quietly.

"That bastard is still free?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with a predatory anger. Anna nodded.

"Can't you tell me it's name? You know as well as I do that names have power." Bast shook her head.

"No Dianne, you know that. I've been bound with magic from Ma'at. To tell you could upset the natural order. I couldn't break my word even if I tried." Anna pursed her lips.

"Thank you anyways. I'll try to stop by soon. Send me a message if you find out anything about the weakening of the veil." The cat goddess nodded before Anna stirred the the oil, breaking the image. She carefully poured the oil back into the urn and replaced both items into her trunk. She let out a deep breath. She leaned against the wooden posts of her bunk.

When she had first come to camp she'd immediately pushed several of the stacks around it, both to create privacy but also as a defensive measure hidden by what appeared to be a desire to sleep surrounded by knowledge. Anna had always been good at hiding her true intentions. It was what made her such an ideal spy for Chiron during the Titian war. No one at camp even knew her real name; Isolde Ventura.

When Athena had guided her to camp after her father had died the goddess had given her a new name to hide behind. And then she had become Dianne Oriel, half-blood daughter of the wisdom goddess. None of her friends knew where her nickname Anna had really come from, assuming it was from Dianne rather than her middle name Anai. She was tired of hiding, but nevertheless she wrapped her lies and secrets around herself like a security blanket. Anna looked around her, soaking in the feeling of safety that her cabin brought her.

The arrangement of the shelves had not changed even as new campers came and older ones left or died. She was one of the oldest campers left at camp. Most of her peers had died in the intervening years, in hopeless quests before Percy had arrived, and in the wars against the titans and the giants and the romans. So many had died. Now her private alcove was home. The one place where she might let her secrets slip, where she was safe enough that she could even consider it. Camp Halfblood was her home now. Even more so than the house her father had left her. More so than any of the safe houses she had hidden around the country, and the few she had around the world. Being the emissary between godly factions lead to lots of travelling. Nico knew of most of them, considering they shared the responsibility of diplomacy.

She opened up the trunk and pulled out a small black book. On the cover a dark red pentacle was stamped on the cover. The words  _daemonum liber_ \- book of demons- was written in an elaborate script. Brightly colored sticky notes stuck out from the pages. Anna had already poured over the book dozens of times, but she was prepared to look over it again and again until it showed her something useful. The book contained the known history of demonkind, how they were created, how to identify one, their various abilities, the different types of demons; both from across the veil, and from other pockets of reality that were associated with different gods and their pantheons. But most importantly it explained how to hunt, trap and kill those demons.

The biggest problem with her book was that it contained very little information on the demons that were escaping across the veil. The book was just too old. The veil and it's monsters were from recent history; at least compared to the gods. Anna had filled into the margins everything that anyone anywhere had ever learned about them. And the only particularly useful information she could find was how to supposedly cure a veil demon. Most of the time, killing a veil demon resulted in the death of its' host. Veil demons were sentient parasites. Celestial bronze could kill the demon, leaving the mortal unharmed, but often the demons had already damaged their hosts beyond repair.

Hours later she groaned, closing the book and putting away her own notes on the various demons she'd seen and killed. The cabin door opened and closed, admitting a group of Anna's younger siblings. She locked her trunk securely just as a heavy weight threw itself across her neck.

"Anna! You're back!" Bea squealed. Anna laughed and hugged the blonde munchkin. Bea was the newest and youngest addition to Cabin 6, bringing their number up to an Olympian twelve. Bea was thirteen and newly claimed when Anna had last been at camp for a visit. At the time most of the cabin had been gone for one reason or another and Anna had taken it upon herself to take care of her since Malcolm had been busy studying for his SATs at the time.

"Hey kiddo." Anna smiled and ruffled her hair. Malcolm leaned out the door he had just come through to shout across the to all the campers heading back to their cabins to change for dinner.

"Blu's back!" He yelled. Anna scowled playfully at her brother. Even though she was older than everyone in the cabin, both Malcolm and Annabeth had been campers longer, with more summers, so they had seniority rights. However being the oldest camper left, she was often treated like a head counselor. A bunch of campers yelled back greetings. Anna laughed again.

"I'm not staying very long Malcolm." She warned. Her brother shrugged.

"Either way, it's good to see you Di." Anna smiled as she waited for them both to change for dinner. Heading to the dining pavilion, she let herself be absorbed into the happy warmth of her family.


	36. Chapter 36

_Anna_

Anna woke up suddenly, as four of her siblings hoisted her and her mattress out of the cabin.

"Malcolm, put me down!" She warned laughing.

"No can do Blu, I'm more scared of what Nico and the Apollo kids will do while you're away than I am of any of your famous revenge schemes." Anna tried to get off her mattress, but found herself tied back down to it with vines. She looked up to see half the camp breaking curfew, carrying brightly burning torches. Shrieks of laughter came as Anna's threats grew more creative, but every time she nearly escaped from the shoulders of her siblings, one of the other cabins did something to keep her in place as she was marched down to the lake. Nico and Will Solace stood on the dock. Nico smirked at her.

 _*"Ho intenzione di ucciderti fratellino!"_  Anna yelled at Nico. He ignored her, instead addressed the rather large crowd behind her.

"I think we need to remind Blu what happens when she forgets to come home!" Nico yelled. The crowd cheered loudly.

"Don't you dare..." Anna warned as the mattress started to tip towards the water.

 _*"Divertiti sorella."_  Nico replied cheerfully. Anna fell into the water with a splash. She surfaced spluttering to find Will pointing a camera at her. She laughed as she swam back to shore. When she pulled herself out of the water, people began to scatter. Anna cackled evilly as she shoved both Nico and Will into the water. She managed to snag the expensive looking camera out of Will's hand before he hit the water.

"I won't throw you in if you record Nico and Will in the water." Anna said to Connor Stoll. The Hermes counselor nodded enthusiastically and took the camera. He began to take photos with gusto as Anna raced after the rapidly scattering campers. She managed to throw in Malcolm and one if the other Apollo kids when Connor yelled from the dock,

"Cabin 11, fights for Blu!" And with a cheer the Hermes kids raced back to the lake, herding anyone they could catch back to the oldest greek demigod. She laughed in delight as she managed to catch little Harley. The young son of Hephaestus was strong and she nearly dropped him twice before she tossed him into the water. The youngest camper immediately yelled,

"Cabin 9 fights with Cabin 7! Get Blu!" The youngest camper was adorably annoyed.

"Hey pipsqueak, you can't call for your cabin yet!" Anna laughed. Harley stuck his tongue out at her even as Nyssa repeated his order. The campers swarmed each other, different cabins yelling allegiances as they went along. Eventually Anna found herself captured again. Nico, along with three of her sibling each holding a limb. The entire camp counted down.

"Three! Two! One!"

Anna flew over the water and tumbled into the lake. By the time she resurfaced Chiron had galloped down from the Big House. While the centaur laughed good naturedly with his pupils, he broke up the campers; reminding them that it was past curfew. Connor handed her Will's camera, filled with photographs.

"Blu, can I have my camera back now?" Will called as he toweled off. Anna shook her head.

"Nope." She popped the p as hard as she could. 'This,' she shook the camera gently, 'is my trophy. And I plan on distributing as many pictures of you and Nico getting out of the lake looking like drowned rats before I leave." Will laughed, conceding defeat. He would get the camera back eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *I'm going to kill you baby brother  
> *Have fun sister
> 
> (Italian)


	37. Chapter 37

_Anna_

Anna thumbed through the printed out photos from the night by the lake. Rachel and Ella found out that the fire demon, or something connected to it would be in Chicago, and soon. She had spent almost six weeks using New York as her home base. She'd visited with Bast multiple times and even managed to sneak in a visit to her mother on Olympus. She had found several leads on the fire demon's name but with each passing week those leads had grown cold, or turned out to be fake. She walked past the climbing wall just as one of the Iris kids fell trying to avoid lava as it shook. She meandered up to Cabin 13 and knocked gently. Nico opened the door, rubbing his eyes. She held out a second packet of photos, most of them related to him and Will. She'd posted the more embarrassing shots of her siblings and Nico around camp, but the ones she offered him were the nice ones; a peace offering.

"Do you have to go?" Nico asked her quietly. Anna quirked her mouth into a smile.

"Yeah I do. I spent as much time here as I could afford. Even if Rachel hadn't gotten a clue from the grove I would have hit the road back to California eventually. See what the Romans got, see if Reyna missed anything. If Chicago doesn't pan out I'll head to Camp Jupiter." She leaned against the doorway. Nico frowned.

"When do you leave Blu?" She looked over to Half Blood Hill, where her bike was currently parked.

 _*"Questo è un addio, fratellino"_  she said quietly.

"Now?" Nico asked sadly. Anna nodded.

"I've already said goodbye to most everyone else. You're the last one." Nico gave her a short hug.

 _*"Ci vediamo presto sorella._  Be safe Dianne." He hugged her. She slipped her own packet of photographs into her backpack, filled with all the questing basics; thermos of nectar, container of ambrosia, extra camp shirts and jeans, a few golden drachmas for iris messages and a few hundred dollars in mortal cash. Anna also carried a credit card that was authorized by Athena. A freshly sharpened Eleos was strapped to her back and the claws Bast had gifted her were securely on her fingers. Anna hugged Nico.

"Stay out of trouble Death Boy." She ruffled his hair one last time before walking away. Anna forced herself to not look back as she mounted her bike. After her trip to Chicago, she was going to fake her death. It had been agreed upon by the Olympians when she had last visited that by operating outside the knowledge of either camp, and by extension most of the mythological world, she would be both safer and more effective. She slid her helmet over her head just as a tear began to trace its way down her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *This is goodbye little brother  
> *See you soon sister
> 
> (Italian)


	38. Chapter 38

_Dean_

Dean sat on the hood of the Impala, a note in his hand. Sam walked up next to him.

"I don't think she's coming back Sammy. It's been almost a two months since she ditched us back in Lawrence." He crumpled up the beer can in his hand before throwing it away. 'She didn't even pick up when we tried to call her after that rawhide." Sam took the note from his brother. They had found it in Anna's almost completely empty duffle in the trunk of the Impala.

__D_ ear Sam and Dean,_

_By the time you've read this I'll be long gone. Don't bother looking for me, you won't find me. I need to sort out a few family things before I keep hunting the thing that killed Jess._   
_I have a few leads on my own projects that I need to follow up on. I know finding your dad is important. So you go find your dad, at this point he is the only one with leads to the yellow eyed demon. But now that I'm not retired I have other things to find and kill, preferably before they kill me._   
_I left you a burner. Inside that phone is a number. If you are ever in serious trouble, call that number. It will bring you help I can vouch for. These past few months have been great with you boys, but this next part I have to do on my own._

_If you don't hear from me within two months, take that phone and make sure you burn it._

_Be safe,_

_A. Colt_

Dean looked at Sam. They took out the burner phone, leaving it on the hood of Baby.

"We didn't try the number Dean. The one she said to use if we were ever in trouble." Sam offered quietly.

"It was always too late. By the time we were in trouble, we got to busy to call it." Dean grunted. Sam shrugged.

"Tell you the truth, when we went to Nebraska I was going to call it. If seeing Reverend Le Grange hadn't worked I was going to call that number." Dean's mouth tightened in disapproval, Sam sighed.

"Let's give her another week. If we don't hear from her then we'll burn it. One more week." Dean nodded in agreement. Sam pocketed both the note and the phone. They got back into the car.

"Chicago, here we come." Dean muttered putting Baby into gear. The car rumbled to life and they swung back onto the interstate.


	39. Chapter 39

_Anna_

Anna dragged some of the debris aside, making a comfortable nest in what was left of Medea's department store. A rainbow shimmered to life right next to her. Chiron's face appeared next to her.

"Hey Chiron. What's going on? I'm not supposed to check in for a few more days."

"Dianne, how did you do it? And more importantly how do we undo it?" Chiron admonished. Anna snickered. The camp must have discovered her revenge by now.

"Do what Chiron? I'm in Chicago, what could I have possibly done from here?" She asked innocently, as though she hadn't been laughing the moment before.

"Dianne, somehow you managed to circumvent the weather spell over us and have left every camper involved in the lake incident with a miniature hurricane over their heads. And all of Nico's clothing is pink. Will Solace has reported that buying new clothing doesn't help. As soon as he puts it on, pink." Anna kept her neutral face.

"How could I have worked such complex magic, not even considering that I am not a child of Hecate, without anyone noticing? Especially since I've been on the road for the last thirteen hours." Chiron shook his head. Anna gave him a sweet smile. A door slammed and Anna heard Nico shouting.

"Is he talking to her? I want to say something! Blu!" Nico shouted through the door.

 _*"Li mortacci tua!_ How do you undo this _cazzo!"_  Anna let herself smirk. She heard someone snap at Nico about his language.

 _*"Buona fortuna fratellino!"_  Anna shouted back. Nico burst into view. Anna howled with laughter. Her curse had expanded and his clashing glittery pink ensemble was now topped with bright yellow and pink glittery hair.

"I'm blonde!" Nico shrieked at her. Even Chiron cracked a grin.

*"That's what you get for messing with your  _grande sorella._ " Anna cackled. Chiron wheeled away, leaving Anna and Nico to chat to themselves.

"Oh please tell me the Stolls got photographic evidence." Anna gasped.

"They won't get to keep it for long." Nico said darkly, his dark glower somewhat ruined by the absurdity of his outfit.

"You know, most of camp thinks Annabeth is the most terrifying. You can see her coldly calculate a thousand different scenarios and each time she will come out on top. But I think we should fear you even more. Because you are the only person I've ever met who can hide their intentions, even in their eyes. Annabeth may be a strategist, but at the end of the day she is a soldier; a general. Blu, you're an assassin, a spy. We never know what you think." Nico said. Anna kept laughing, but it became an exercise in what Nico said she did best; hiding. And he wasn't wrong. She let her mirth die away naturally.

"Little brother, there is much you do not understand. I must go now." Anna waved her hand through the rainbow, not allowing Nico to see her eyes grow colder than Stygian ice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *you're ancestors were terrible! (Italian insult) how do you undo this shit?  
> *good luck little brother!  
> *big sister
> 
> (Italian)


	40. Chapter 40

_Anna_

Anna walked up to the condo. She glanced down at the manila folder in her hand.

Meredith Allen, 25 year old waitress had been found dead by her landlord. She had been found in pieces; according to the eyewitness reports she had stolen from the police, it looked like an animal attack. No evidence of any crime having been committed beyond the torn apart body.

She knocked on the door. A middle aged African American woman opened up.

"Hi, my name is Jane Brontë, I'm an intern at the Tribune. Do you mind if I take a look around? Take some photos? My boss missed a few things and well, the editor is furious." She smiled apologetically. The landlady ate her act up.

"Sure you can. The alarm company boys are in there right now, but I'm sure it's fine." Anna smiled again and followed her up the stairs to the small condo.

"Thank you." She stepped in. Two men were hovering over the carpet, both with their backs to the door. One was busy tearing tape and sticking it down.

_'Alarm company my ass.'_

"You ever seen that symbol before?" The taller one asked in a very familiar voice. Anna smirked as she silently crept closer.

"Never." Dean's deep voice answered. Anna peered between them. There was a sigil in black masking tape that connected the dots of blood on the floor, it looked like an ornate letter Z with a circle in the center. She speaks up, causing the brothers to jump.

"I have."


	41. Chapter 41

_Anna_

Anna dropped the newspaper as Sam walked back into the bar. The two of them sat in silence as they waited for Dean to come back from the bar. Anna paged through her journal, the one she'd filled with notes before she left camp. Dean plopped down next to her.

"Did you get anything?" Sam asked his brother.

"Did you get her number?" Anna said at the same time, distracted. She found the page with the odd symbol on it. She repressed a frustrated groan as she studied the page. Her problem was that she had been trying out a new cipher on her journal; to protect the extent of her personal knowledge from everyone. She swore and glanced up in time to hear Sam say,

"You mind doing a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean." Anna blinked at the snippy tone in his voice. She looked up. Dean flashed her a napkin with the cute bartender's digits on it as he kept talking to Sam. Anna grinned and gave him a thumbs up. She ruthlessly crushed down the part of her that was a tiny bit jealous.

_'She's hot.'_  Anna mouthed. Dean smirked and turned back to his brother.

"There's nothing to find out. Meredith worked here, she waited tables, everybody here said she was normal. Didn't do or say anything weird before she died. Sam you find anything on that symbol?" Sam shook his head.

"Nope, nothing. Not in dad's journal or in any of the usual books." Sam turned to her.

"Anna? You said you've seen it before." Anna nodded.

"Yeah I have, right here actually. The only problem is that when I transcribed my notes, I used a new kind of cipher, one my younger sister Annabeth cooked up for me. I modified it to protect my work. But now, well, I can't actually decipher it." She dropped the spiral notebook onto the table, grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes. She stood up.

"I need a drink." She walked away as Sam showed Dean the other victim they had dug up. The energy at the table was strange. Anna knew it was her fault, both for vanishing, and for reappearing, without notice. Granted she hadn't known that the boys were headed to Chicago, but she should have reached out to them while she was at camp. She had just gotten busy, and well she'd forgotten. In retrospect the note she left was a little overkill; being far too cryptic and honestly kinda creepy. Sam seemed to be trying to behave normally and Dean, well Dean seemed angry with her. Anna couldn't bring herself to blame him. She'd dropped them without a word and now she was back. And they still didn't know anything about her. She wouldn't trust her either.

When she turned around, beer in hand, she saw Sam hugging a blonde girl. Dean and Anna exchanged a look from across the bar. She walked up and stood by Dean as Sam caught up with the girl.

"Ahem." Dean cleared his throat loudly. Anna just raised an eyebrow.

"Dude cover your mouth." The girl gave a light glare at the older Winchester. Sam shook himself slightly. Anna neutralized her expression at the snippy attitude. She already disliked this girl.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Meg, this is my brother Dean. And our friend Anna." He gestured to them both. Meg's mouth drops open a little.

"Oh, this is Dean." She said, nodding. Her gaze cooled further. Anna's eyebrows started to creep towards her hairline. She caught herself and rearranged her expression towards casual indifference. Dean huffed out an uncomfortable laugh.

"So you've heard of me." Meg nodded, eyes cold and hard.

"Oh, yeah. Nice. The way you treat your brother like luggage." Her face had closed off completely. She swung towards Anna. 'and you're the ungrateful runaway." Anna didn't let herself react, even as a tendril of white hot fury shot through her. She brutally pushed her emotions down, refusing to respond.

"Sorry?" Dean looked shocked.

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do. Stop dragging him all around God's green earth." She continued, ignoring the expression on Dean's face. Anna took note of the older Winchester, each of his tells ratcheting his anger level up a little higher on her internal scale. Sam glanced back at them both uncomfortably.

"Meg. It's alright." He assured the blonde woman. Dean whistled, but before he could say anything he might regret, Anna seized his arm.

"We are going to get a drink." She pulled him back to the bar where the flirty bartender immediately served them another round.

Dean glared at the girl as he took a large gulp from his glass. Anna kept sipping, knowing that she needed a clear head to drive her bike back to the sewer entrance of the destroyed department store.

"Dean you know who she is?" Anna asked quietly. Dean shook his head. Anna frowned.

"Ok then, Sam seems to know her. So let's trust his judgment." She said quietly. He look another long gulp. She dropped enough money to cover the tab for all three of them before standing up.

"And for the record, I may have left. But I never took you boys for granted. And I sure as hell didn't run away. More like drove away very quickly." Dean gave her a shallow smile at her weak joke. Anna shook herself as she returned to a serious tone of voice.

"Tell me you boys burned the phone." She said, gathering her leather riding jacket and her encrypted journal. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out the perfectly undamaged cell phone and her crumpled note.

"We gave you one more week." He said. Anna reached for it but Dean slapped her hand away. She sighed.

"Burn it. Here." She pulled a second phone out of her pocket. "You can reach me with this one. There are three numbers. The first one is me. The second one is if you can't reach me after three calls. The last one is for emergencies." Anna shrugged into her coat. 'Be careful, I don't like her." Anna started to walk away when Dean called across the bar.

"We gonna see you again?" Anna glanced back at him. She gave him a crooked smile, guilt leaving a nasty taste in the back of her throat.

"In the morning." She walked out of the bar, Dean's eyes burning her as she left.


	42. Chapter 42

_Sam_

"Who the hell is she?" Dean growled. Sam followed his brother out of the bar. He shook his head.

"I don't really know. I've only met her once. Meeting up with her again, is, I dunno man. It's weird."

"And what was she saying? Huh? That I treat you like luggage? What were you, bitching about me, about  _Anna,_  to some chick?" Dean said angrily. Sam glanced over at his brother. Dean seemed even more on edge than Sam would have expected.

"I'm sorry Dean. It was when we had that huge fight and I was at that bus stop in Indiana. But that's not important, now just listen..." Dean cut him off.

"Well is there any truth to what she was saying? Am I keeping you against your will Sam?"

"Of course not. Now won't you listen?"

"What?" Dean snapped, turning around to face his brother. Sam wondered if Dean's mood had anything to do with the fact that Anna clearly decided not to stay with them that night. Especially after Meg's comments about Anna being the runaway.

"I think there's something strange is going on." Dean tried to interrupt but Sam plowed on. 'No man, I mean like our kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead."

"Why would you say that?" Dean looked less angry and more confused.

"I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road. And now I randomly run into her in some random Chicago bar? The same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural. The same day we run back into Anna, who was our  _friend_ , who hunted with us for six months before vanishing? Who we know almost nothing about? Don't you think that's a little weird?" Dean shrugged.

"I dunno, random coincidence. It happens. Besides Anna was your friend first." Sam sighed exasperated. Why couldn't Dean see that something was happening?

"Well yeah, it happens. But not to us. Look I could be wrong. I'm just saying there something about this girl, and this case, that I can't quite put my finger on." Sam says earnestly. Dean just scoffs.

"But I bet you'd like to.' Dean gets a teasing glint in his eye. 'Maybe she's not a suspect. Maybe you got a thing for her. Maybe you're thinking a little too much with your upstairs brain, ehh?" Dean ribbed his brother a little. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Do me a favor, check into a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts. And see if you can find where Anna is, maybe help her figure out what that symbol means from the floor. Or find out something about our mysterious friend." Dean sighed, looking away.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to watch Meg." Sam admitted quickly. Dean laughed. Sam weakly protested that he just wanted information but Dean wasn't having it.

"I'm going, I'm going. Find Anna, check into Meg, figure out that damn symbol." Dean raised his hand as he walked away. Sam groaned before going back to the bar.


	43. Chapter 43

_Anna_

Anna cheered to herself. She managed to get a hold of Annabeth, and they'd figured out how to break her cipher.

*"Thanks  _μικρή αδερφή_." Annabeth stuck her tongue out at Anna just as she dissolved the connection. She pulled out her phone.

"Dean." Came the rough voice. Anna smiled.

"Dean I got it. The symbol is Zoroastrian, one of the first monotheistic religions. Like pre-Jesus old. It's a summoning sigil for a Daeva. A demon of darkness, or something like that. The translation is a bit rough considering it came from a dead language.' Ana decided not to mention that she was fluent in at least three dead languages, considering she wasn't in this one. She continued talking.

'Daevas are demonic, destructive beings. They can travel through walls and rip shadows apart, which kills the person that shadow is attached to. I don't have much else, beyond that these guys are completely savage and have to be summoned. Whoever summons them has to be careful though, they'll attack anyone, even the being that calls them. They're really old, no one has seen them in thousands of years. It takes some seriously powerful magic to call these suckers up."

"Why shadows? I mean, it's just a space where light was blocked." Dean asked, a pen scratching in the background. Anna chewed on her lip, debating on how much she could tell him.

"Well, shadows have a lot of mythos revolving around them, but most importantly here, at least, is that a lot of middle eastern cultures believed shadows are a part of your soul. The destruction of your shadow, would destroy a piece of your soul, which would kill you." She chewed her lip a bit more.

"Ok, great. Hey Anna, where are you? Why don't you come join me and Sam here. Work together like before." Anna laughed softly.

"Maybe. I'm not sure where I'll need to go after this. But I'll definitely work with you boys on this case. I'll see if I can dig anything else up. Bye Dean." Anna hung up. She needed to pack and move before any monsters found her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Little sister
> 
> (Greek)


	44. Chapter 44

_Dean_

Dean leaned forward.

"Look I'll tell you one thing. I don't think we should be doing this alone." Sam nodded his agreement. Dean tossed Sam Anna's new cell as he pulled his own phone out of his pocket.

"First number is Anna. I'll call dad."


	45. Chapter 45

_Anna_

"We have a lead, can you meet us at these warehouses?" Sam's voice drifted through the speaker. Anna started climbing out of the - surprisingly nice - sewer, heading for her bike.

"Where?" She asked shortly as she tugged the helmet over her head.

"1435 West Erie."

"I'll be there." She hung up and kicked her bike to life. The engine roared as she sped to towards the warehouse.


	46. Chapter 46

_Anna_

Anna peeked over the railing in time to hear Meg say,

"You." Suddenly Sam grunts as a body-less shadow attacked him. Dean flew across the room, crashing into some crates. Anna drops down, carefully resheathing Eleos. A sword can't stop a shadow. But words of power, that might do something. Anna made the three clawed gesture again, the familiar motion to ward off evil reassuring.

_'Mother, I hope what I do next is wise, rather than desperately, recklessly clever.'_

She whispered  _Hah-ri_ , and the hieroglyph for silence appeared. She gripped the rusty railing and pulled. The creaky metal stayed silent under her hands.  _N-dah,_  protect, was next, because almost as soon as the boys woke up, they began to antagonize Meg. The divine words flared in the unstable purple of hybrid magic.

"Hey Sam, don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend? Is a bitch." Dean goads. Sam glances as best he can toward Dean, straining against the zip ties.

"Yes. The whole thing was a trap. Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearing what you have to say. It was all a set up wasn't it. And the victims were from Lawrence." Sam rambled, looking to stall for time.

"That doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw you in. That's all."

"You killed those two people for nothing." Sam glared at her.

"Baby I've killed a lot more, for a lot less." Meg smirked. Anna felt sick, knowing she had done the same; it didn't matter that most of them had been monsters, or that they'd been building up to a war. She had plenty of mortal and demigod blood on her hands too.

"You trapped us. Good for you. It's miller time. Why don't you kill us already?" Dean growled. Meg's head snapped around. Anna quietly crept from cover to cover, trying to get close to one of the boys.

"Not very quick on the uptake are we?' Meg leaned forward, malicious glee written across her face, 'This trap isn't for you." Sam and Dean both paled.

"Dad."

"Anna."

Anna stiffened. She slowly extended the clawed rings. She would have to be fast if this trap really was for her.

"It's a trap for dad." Sam sounded sure. Dean looked worried for a moment before pasting on a cocky grin.

"Oh sweetheart. You're dumber than you look. Because even if dad is in town, which he isn't, he would never have walked into something like this. He's too good." Dean stated it like fact, every fibre of his person believing in his father. Anna could still dredge up memories from when she used to believe the same thing. Then she'd gotten a first hand lesson in exactly what a mortal parent was willing to do for their child. Not just her father, but the parents of other demigods she'd watched die in the crossfire between their children and the monsters they fought. Meg uncrossed her legs, standing up.

"Oh, he's pretty good. I'll give you that. But you see, he has one weakness. Well, maybe two." She tweaked at Dean's coat, as she eyed him skeptically. Anna dodged out of the shadows, taking the opportunity Meg's turned back presented her. Sam looked up at her, his eyes wide. She held her finger up to her lips. He nodded. She leaned down and swiped through the zip cords that bound him to the pillar.

"And what's that." Dean stalled, looking over at Anna working on freeing Sam. She got one hand free just as Meg announced that John Winchester was in town, and that she understood the weakness of every parent. Their children.

"But you know Dean." She continued. Anna sawed faster. She really should have sharpened these claws again before she left camp. 'I'm not just waiting for your daddy. I want that bitch, Anna, you said Sam?" She pressed her drakon bone knife into Sam's hand. Then Anna rolled away behind a crate as Meg turned towards Sam.

_'That was close.'_  She thought to herself. Sam kept his hands behind his back as she approached him. She crouched in front of him.

"What about her?" Dean growled viciously. Meg seemingly ignored Dean, whose tone had grown low and dangerous. The blonde squatted down in front of Sam, tapping the end of the younger Winchester brother's nose.

"Did you know Anna isn't even her name? No of course you didn't. But you boys don't need to worry about what I'm going to do to her. No, she isn't going to the daevas. I'm saving her for me. See, her family is special. Your  _Anna_  even more so." Meg chuckled as she got close to Sam. Anna tuned out Meg as best she could, trying to ignore the churning in her gut about her name. Anna managed to get to Dean, and began to saw through the ties around him. She didn't even bother to try with Eleos, the ties were too tight, she'd only end up cutting his hand off.

"Come on Sammy, you and I can still have some dirty fun." Meg whispered into Sam's ear just as Anna got Dean's left hand free. She started to work on his other just as Sam snarled back at Meg.

"You wanna have fun? Go ahead then." Sam surged forward, smacking into Meg. The two fought viciously, as Sam struggled towards the table in the center of the room.

"Get the alter!" Dean yelled. Anna cut through the last of Dean's rope before turning and tackling Meg just as Sam flipped the table in the center of the room. Loud snarls filled the room as the shadowy demons dragged Meg to the window. She screamed as she was thrown out of it. Anna turned around to glare at Dean.

"You couldn't have told me to flip the table while I was untying you?" Dean shrugged.

"Didn't want to give you away." Anna sighed heavily as she helped him to his feet. They all crowded around the shattered remains of the window. Meg lay on the pavement, her body surrounded by broken glass.

"I guess daevas don't like to be bossed around." Anna murmured, even as an odd feeling niggled in the back of her mind; as though she'd forgotten something. Dean looked over at his brother.

"Hey Sam. Next time you wanna get laid, pick someone who isn't buckets of crazy." Anna choked on the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.


	47. Chapter 47

_Anna_

Anna waited for the boys in the parking lot of their motel. They got out of the car, the blood on Sam's face still dripping gently down his cheek.

"Thought I'd say goodbye properly this time." Anna flashed a small smile at the brothers.

"You're leaving?" Sam asked quietly. She nodded.

"Not forever. I'll catch up with you boys in a week or two. No more than three." Dean glared at her. Her black bike helmet was held hostage in between his large hands.

"This have to do with your name not being Anna?" He asked accusingly. Anna's chest tightened. Dean looked betrayed; even more so than when she had turned around and left them in Kansas. She turned away from the boys, to partially cover the pain she knew was crossing her face.

"I've been Anna for most of my life. It's been a long time since anyone ever called me anything different, so long it doesn't even matter." She regained control of her emotions and plastered a bland expression on her face as she turned to face her friends again.

"Besides, I would have left after we'd solved this case anyways. Chicago is just one stop, there are a few other places I need to go, people I need to see and monsters I should go kill. Meg just rearranged the timeline a bit. I'll call as soon as I can." She swung her leg back over the bike. Dean reluctantly handed her helmet back. She tugged it over her head.

"You come back to us Anna." Sam warned. Anna turned the key and the engine turned over, letting out a soft growl.

"Dean burn the old phone. I'll see you boys in a few weeks." She slammed the visor down and her engine roared. When she looked back in her mirrors, both boys were vanishing into the building.

Pouring on speed, Anna left Chicago, and the burning aching she felt in her chest, in her dust.


	48. Chapter 48

_Anna_

"Where did you say you boys were headed next?" Anna asked.

"Richardson, Texas." Sam's voice replied. Anna grinned as she cradled the phone against her ear, she leaned forward into the mirror as she applied her lipstick. Smacking her lips together gently, she answered Sam.

"Lucky for you boys, I'm in Austin. I can be there by morning." Anna vaguely heard Dean yelling at Sam about Nair in shampoo in the background. Anna chuckled.

"Hmm, is Dean bald Short Stuff?" Sam laughed into the phone.

"No. But he almost was. He smelled it before it was too late, but now all of his shampoo is ruined." Anna laughed.

"Well you be careful Short Stuff. I'm wrapping up a few things here and when I get to Richardson, I expect to find the both of you in one piece." Sam laughed again as Anna hung up.

She strode out of the bathroom, her heels clicked across marble floor, the jewelry she had  _liberated_  from the bitchy socialite in room 306 glittering under the mood lighting. She leaned against the bar, sipping delicately from a flute of champagne. A tall man in a freshly pressed suit walked up to the bar. He held up two fingers while nodding at the top shelf. As the man turned away he bumped into her. Anna dipped her fingers into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper that was wrapped around a heavy object. Abandoning her drink, Anna took her leave of the party.

* * *

Anna slung her backpack over her shoulder. She unwrapped the paper. A necklace fell out, the pendent made out of celestial bronze. The symbol of a very old gun was stamped on one side, an image of two eyes glaring out of flames on the other. She glanced at the note. It had one word on it.

_ἀποκάλυψις_

  Apocalypse.


	49. Chapter 49

_Anna_

Anna dodged the spirit. She crashed through a shelf and the glass jars scattered all around her. Dean pumped the shotgun, blasting the entity with rock salt. It did nothing. The ghost swooped down at them, growling.

"What kind of ghost is immune to rock salt!" Anna shrieked with rage. She took a swing with Eleos, which did just about as much good as the rock salt; even though the stygian iron should have killed the spirit by absorbing it's soul; a one way ticket to the Underworld.

"I don't care! Go, go!" Dean yelled. All three of them crashed out the door; running right into the two idiot ghost hunters. Anna pushed the one with the goggles and wandering hands off of her before following Dean and Sam into the woods.


	50. Chapter 50

_Anna_

Anna hunched over her warded laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard. The car jostled her and one of the claws slipped out. It sliced through the space bar. It screwed up the code she was trying to program. Key word;  _trying_. She swore violently in every language she knew. Which was a lot. Her father, and her mom, and the Stoll brothers, had ensured that.

"Woah tiger. You could make  _me_  blush with those words." Dean teased from the front of the car. She ignored him while continuing the snarl out language that could have made even the most hardened criminal blush. Anna retracted the claw while rapidly backspacing and retyping her code. Sam leaned back over the seat.

"Anna, that's backwards. Switch it around."

*"I learned how to code ten minutes ago.  _Φάε το παντελόνι μου!"_  She snarled, but did as he said anyways. The computer beeped softly and accepted the code. She blinked in shock. It actually had worked. Anna laughed.

"Sam you're a genius!" She leaned forward and hugged him tightly. She snickered cruelly, as she watched her work carefully and systematically destroy the idiot amateur ghost hunter's webpage.

"Goodbye hell hound's lair." She slammed the laptop shut in vicious satisfaction just as they pulled up to the haunted house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *eat my pants
> 
> (Greek)


	51. Chapter 51

_Anna_

The axe buried itself into the wall next to Anna's head. She drew Eleos and stabbed him through the gut. The tulpa dissipated before it reformed a few feet away. Dean grabbed her and Sam and hauled them out the door.

"Look Mordechai can't leave the house, and we can't kill him. We improvise." Dean flicked open a lighter. He tossed it onto the trail of fuel he had poured. The three of them run out of the house as it goes up in flames.

"That's your solution? Burn the whole damn place to the ground?" Sam panted. Dean looked from the fire to his brother, his expression a little desperate.

"Well no one will go in anymore. And look Mordechai can't haunt a house, if there is no house to haunt. It's fast and dirty but it works." Anna nods her head slowly in agreement. Sam looked skeptical.

"What if the legend changes again and Mordechai can leave the house?" Anna reached on to her tiptoes to ruffle his hair.

"Nah, we're good Short Stuff. We killed the website, no one is going to think him back to life again." The three of them watched the house burn down together.

"How many things have we killed over the years Dean?" Sam asked quietly. Anna started to retreat to the car. 'Of those, how many of them existed because people believed in it?" Anna didn't hear Dean's response. She didn't really want to.

_'Almost every damn one.'_  Anna thought to herself as she slid into the Impala.


	52. Chapter 52

_Dean_

Dean watched Anna as she sat stiffly in the pediatric ward of the hospital. He came up behind her. As usual she seemed to already know he was there.

"I don't know if I can do this one Dean." She admitted quietly, her voice cracked and hoarse. Dean rested a hand on her shoulder as they watched Asher get checked in. His mouth twisted, a sick feeling roiling in his gut. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he had accidentally caused a shtriga to escape when he was a kid. Instead he pulled on the same mantra he'd been reminding himself of since this case started.

"Yes you can. You'll do it because if you don't, these kids will die." Anna shook her head shakily. He couldn't quite understand the expression on her face. Her voice shook and wavered, but she spoke so quietly he almost missed it.

"Dean... A few years ago... There was this little girl..." She started, when a nurse interrupted.

"Dr. Hydeker said he can answer your questions now." Dean internally cursed the timing of the nurse when Anna's mouth snapped shut. A blank expression fell across her face, like a curtain dropping as they followed the nurse out of the waiting room.


	53. Chapter 53

_Anna_

"You want to take a case  _where_?" Anna asked, forcing her voice to remain nonchalant as she takes another bite of her sketchy diner breakfast.

"New Paltz, that's in... "

"Upstate New York." Anna interrupted Sam. Dean nodded in response as he continued to chew. Anna took a deep breath.

"New York, okay." She stood up, dropping a twenty on the table.

"I need to make a call." Sam and Dean exchanged looks as she walked away. The bell above the door rang as she walked out the door. She glanced over her shoulder and rounded the corner. Pulling out the glass pendent from her necklace she angled it so that it threw a rainbow against the side of the alley she'd ducked into. She looked around her again. She tossed in a golden drachma.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Chiron at Camp Half Blood." She muttered the incantation quickly. Chiron's face appeared.

"What is it Dianne?" Anna glanced over her shoulder again.

"We're headed to New York. Upstate, so it shouldn't be a problem. But tell everyone to be extra vigilant, especially those heading home from spring break or out on quests. I'll try to drop in for a visit if I can." She glanced over her shoulder. She heard Dean call her name.

"Be careful child. And  _please_  have mercy on your siblings. I think Malcolm is ready to be done waking up with a flooded cabin every morning. Annabeth may intervene soon. And Nico still can't get his hair back to a normal color." Anna laughed lightly. She heard the boys rounding the corner.

 _*"αντιο σας"_  She said quickly before waving her hand through the rainbow breaking the connection. She strode back to the street just as Dean and Sam came around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *goodbye
> 
> (Greek)


	54. Chapter 54

_Dean_

Dean glances at Anna flirting with the absolute  _creep_  at the motel check in desk. It made him a bit sick, something inside him screaming that it was wrong for her to give the undeserving  _pervert_  the time of day. Dean pushed that part of him into a small box that he locked up before throwing away the mental key. Sam came up next to him.

"You get the feeling that she's hiding more than just her past?" Sam asked him quietly. Dean thought about the strange way she had reacted to the idea of them going to New York, and how quickly she had finished her call when he and Sam had gone looking for her. He nodded. Anna laughed, low and seductive. The teenaged boy ogled at her chest with the subtly of a neon billboard as he handed over the room keys. As soon as she had the rooms keys in her hand she bounced back towards them both, her peppy step a complete contrast to the disgusted look on her face.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sam muttered sadly. His brother sighed as Dean followed him and Anna to their triple discounted rooms.


	55. Chapter 55

_Sam_

_*"Fratellino!"_  Anna shrieked. She threw herself into the arms of a teenager with patchy pink and blonde hair growing out from clearly dark roots. She ruffled it affectionately.

"I still haven't figured out how you keep getting this dye into my shampoo. You haven't been home in ages." The boy complained. Anna turned around.

"Sam this is Nico. Nico, Sam. Dean you've met him already." Sam grinned and shook Nico's hand. Dean slapped him on the back.

"I told you your sister would be safe with me." Nico laughed.

"Yeah, but I wasn't safe with her. I wish you'd kept her with you longer.' Nico gestured to his hair, 'this mess is her fault. I have no idea how she does it. But I know it's her fault." Anna laughed, her smile more than a little crooked.

"And I'll never tell you my secrets  _fratellino_." Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Now the brothers knew where she had gone while she had disappeared. She'd gone home. Which, to be honest, the Winchester's understood. She wanted to see her brother. Everything was forgiven; or mostly. Besides, now she'd shared something else. Her home was in New York City.

"Remind me to never get in a prank war with her." Dean whispered. Sam nodded in fervent agreement with his brother. He did not want to end up with pink hair. Or blonde. Sam felt a massive amount of respect well up inside him. Anna had willingly left her family for months at a time to hunt with him and Dean. And she still made an effort to stay connected with them. Even if it was with sneaky and underhanded pranks. Like pink hair. Or secretive phone calls.

"Nico, you tell Annabeth I left the cure taped to the bottom of her mattress. We,' Anna swiveled her hand airily between the three of them, 'are headed upstate." Nico laughed as he traded keys with her. He nodded as the trio walked out of the diner.

The noise of New York City swallowed them whole. Anna tossed her new keys in the air.

"You boys ready to meet my car?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Brother
> 
> (Italian)
> 
> I love comments! Please comment!


	56. Chapter 56

_Anna_

Anna raised her eyebrows at the boys from across the room. Sam didn't notice as he chatted with the owner's daughter, a slightly dopey expression on his face. Dean on the other hand, looked slightly dumbfounded by her dress and  _borrowed_  jewelry. Anna smirked as the owner threw the massively underdressed brothers out, while she continued to casually glide around the auction house, glancing through artifacts.

She gave a little finger wave as she sipped on her champaign. She paced around the room a little longer before sighing and followed them out, her dress swishing lightly around her ankles.

"What took you so long if you never changed?" Anna asked as they headed for the parking lot. Sam looked at Dean with a sour look, the older Winchester covering up his guilty expression with little success before they both shrugged at her.

"See you back to the motel?" Dean answered evasively, running a hand through his hair. She could practically  _smell_ the hangover on him. A hickey was visible from just under his collar, and his clothing was rumpled and worn; and the same as what he'd been wearing the night before. Tamping down any non-feelings she was  _not_  having, Anna simply raised an eyebrow at him before sliding into her truck. She pulled out of the lot quickly, barely bothering to check behind her to see if the boys followed her, just pressing down on the gas with a barely restrained  _not_ -emotion she was  _not_  feeling.


	57. Chapter 57

_Dean_

"We'll go wait in the car. Nice meeting you Sarah." Anna steered Dean away from Sam and Sarah quickly, her small hand gripping his shoulder tightly.

"I'm the one that burned the doll, destroyed the spirit; but don't thank me or anything." Dean muttered as she pushed him out the door.

"Dean you're the one who pushed for them to hook up. Get over it." She muttered back. Dean huffed. He  _really_  hated it when she was right.


	58. Chapter 58

_Anna_

Anna's 1971 Chevy Pick Up growled as the engine turned over. She sighed and patted the hood lovingly. She had gone to take care of a Chimera a few of her siblings had gone on a quest to kill on her way out of New Paltz, but it was time for her to hit the road again.

"You sure Anna? What about the stuff in back?" Malcolm asked her from the front seat. He was driving it back to Camp for her. He had brought her bike up so she could switch them back. She missed the freedom of her bike too much to keep the car, no matter how much more convenient the truck was.

"Yeah." She lied. 'The bike is better for this assignment. I just wanted to drive her again." He leaned out the window, handing her a small bag.

"Extra stuff; just in case. Ambrosia, cash, a few drachma. Band aids. Duck tape." Anna nodded at her younger half brother.

"Take care of my truck for me yeah? I'll check in by the end of the month." Her phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Sam. She flipped it open, ignoring Malcom's instinctive flinch at the sight of the device.

"Where we going next?"

"Colorado." Sam's voice crackled through the abused device. Anna nodded at her brother as he pulled away. She mounted the bike, keeping the cell phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear. Some of her injuries protested, but Anna shook it off as she started the engine.

"See you in a few days." Hanging up she doubled checked the saddle bags, touched Eleos's scabbard and tugged her helmet over her head. The next minute she was roaring back onto the road, feeling for all the world like she was flying.


	59. Chapter 59

_Anna_

Anna stopped in Black Oak, Indiana for the night. She hopped off the bike before peeling back her shirt. Her jacket was in tatters from the claws of the gryffon attack earlier that day. The jacket had unceremoniously been deposited into the trash, nothing more than a bloody rag by the time she'd managed to tug it off.

It was a shame, she'd really liked that jacket.

The burns from the Chimera's fiery breath still stung, even if the nectar and ambrosia had already fixed most of it up the day before. She hissed in pain as the fabric pulled on her torn skin. She pulled out her cell phone, dialing with one hand as she eased the rest of her destroyed shirt off her body.

"Hello?" Dean asked. Anna tossed her ruined and bloody clothing onto the floor. She ran water, testing the temperature with her finger. She switched the phone to her other cheek, balancing it on her shoulder as she wet a hand towel.

"Hey Dean." Anna sucked in a sharp breath as she dabbed the water onto her torso.

"Where are you? Are you ok? What's going on?" He asked insantly, sounding worried. She heard Sam tell Dean to make a left.

"I got a bit side tracked, and got attacked on my way there. I'm in Indiana right now. I may be a few more days."

"Shit Anna, are you ok?" Tears stung her eyes as she cleaned the blood away. She would need to remove all the debris from the wounds before she could take even a sip of nectar. She heard Sam's voice in the background, asking Dean what was going on. Something inside her warmed at the concern in both of their voices. While her family would care, it had been a long time since anyone at camp would have considered her current injuries to be worrisome. This wouldn't even have warranted a stay in the infirmary.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just need to rest up for a night. My bike isn't really built for a bruised torso." She reassured them, although the affect was slightly marred when her voice hitched a little as her hand slipped. She heard the car pull up and park through the phone.

"Doesn't sound like it's just a bruised torso Anna." Dean scolded. Anna frowned. He was getting better at reading her. She wasn't sure if she liked that or not.

"Ok, maybe a few cracked ribs and a few scrapes too." She pretended to admit as she continued to wash the blood off. Those injuries would match up anything the godly food wouldn't heal by the time she saw them next. Dean sighed.

"Well we're dealing with a nest of vampires. Dad's old friend was killed by them." Anna stopped what she was doing, hands frozen, the blood dripping off the towel as it hovered btween her body and the sink.

"A nest of what?" Anna asked sharply.

"Vampires. I know, I know it's kind of silly." Anna's hands shook. The bloody hand towel dropped into the sink with a soft  _plop_. A hand crept up towards her neck, almost subconsciously.

"No. You're wrong. They're extinct. Have been for years." She said, swallowing down her fear.

"Well, they've made one hell of a come back. Anyways our dad is in town, so take as much time as you need." Dean kept going, completely oblivious to how dangerous this hunt would be.

"No. I'll be there by morning. You be careful Dean. I'm serious. Whatever you think you know about bloodsuckers, throw it away. They are much much worse, and much much harder to kill than you think." Anna hung up without giving Dean the chance to respond. She groaned as she turned on the shower.

_'This is going to hurt.'_

Anna dug out the ambrosia and left it on the counter.

She was going to need it if she planned on making a fourteen hour drive that night.


	60. Chapter 60

_Anna_

Anna roared into the small town. She pulled out her phone. Sam had texted her the address to an old barn where they suspected the nest to be. She revved the engine before tearing down the highway.

* * *

She pulled up just as the brothers Winchester and an older man tore out of the barn like bats out of hell. She pulled her bike in a tight circle, engine still rumbling, ready to leave at a moments notice.

"They won't follow. They'll wait until tonight. Once a vampire gets your scent it's for life." The older man said, glancing around as they came to a stop, breathing heavily. Anna swallowed hard. She knew that better than anyone.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Dean demanded. The older man barely even glanced at her, but Anna knew that he'd registered her presence.

"We find the nearest funeral home, that's what." The older man said nonchalantly. Sam and Dean looked confused. Anna closed her eyes, composing herself before sliding up the visor of her helmet.

"I passed one on my way into town. We can go there now." John Winchester finally deigned to look at her.

"And who are you?" Anna leaned forward on her bike, casually resting on her forearms.

"Anna, Anna Colt." John glanced back at his boys. Sam stepped around his father and gave her a hug.

"You made it." She smiled at him tiredly. Even after eating as much ambrosia as she could without spontaneously combusting, she was still exhausted and sore. Some of the deeper cuts hadn't even healed. She'd been forced to give herself stitches. Anna barely managed to prevent herself from wincing when Sam's arms tightened around her waist. Luckily the new riding jacket was bulky enough to cover the lumps the bandages left. She reached up and ruffled Sam's hair, ignoring the painful twinge in her side from the stretch.

"Sorry Short Stuff. I meant to get here yesterday, but I got held up." Dean stepped up to her next, a warm, well muscled arm snaking around her waist with a gentle squeeze. Anna laughed pushing both boys away and got off her bike to give them both proper hugs. When it was Dean's turn again, he turned his assessing green eyes onto her.

"You ok? Last night you said you were attacked?" Dean turned her shoulders from side to side as he looked her over, carefully scanning her body for any sign of injury. She smiled at him gently, letting him check her over. Most of her injuries and bruising was hidden under her clothing; no place he could spot for now. Anna shrugged.

"I'm fine. The thing is dead. The rest is not important." She stepped around the brothers, facing the eldest Winchester. 'You must be John. I've heard a lot about you." She stuck out her hand. John shook it causally.

"All good I hope." The eldest Winchester said with a small smirk. Anna just winked and tapped the side of her nose. Both Dean and Sam spluttered incredulously. Anna ignored her two friends entirely as she clapped her hands together, projecting a confidence she didn't feel.

"Alright, let's rob a funeral home."


	61. Chapter 61

_Sam_

Sam paced around the little room.

"It shouldn't be taking this long. I should go help." John didn't even look up from the papers spread in front of him.

"Dean's got it. And that Anna Colt is more than competent, if I remember Arizona correctly." He rumbled. Sam ignored him as he continued to pace in frantic circles. John looked up at his youngest son and sighed.

"Sam. I don't think I ever told you this. But the day you born you know what I did?" Sam glanced at his father.

"No."

"I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you. Did the same thing for your brother. It was a college fund. And every month I put in another hundred dollars." John looked away for a moment, a silent sigh exiting his nose. 'Anyways my point is that this was never the life I wanted for you."

"Then why'd you get so mad when I left?" Sam asked, confused.

"You got to understand son. After your mother passed all I saw was evil. Everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you prepared, ready. You see somewhere along the line I, ah, stopped being your father, and I became your drill sergeant. So when you said you wanted to go away to school all I could think about, my only thought was, that you would be alone. Vulnerable. Sam it just never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me, we're just different." Sam chuckled sardonically. He looked away for a moment.

"We're not different, not anymore. With what happened to mom, and Jess. We probably have more in common than just about anyone." John gave his son a sad smile.

"I guess you're right son."

"Dad whatever happened to that college fund?" John gave Sam a long look before answering.

"Spent it on ammo." Sam laughed, shaking his head.

_'Typical.'_ He thought, for once without any sort of malice underneath the thought.

"Anna Colt, huh? All I know is that she was a pretty good hunter, young too." John said casually, leaning back to look at his son. Sam paused, trying to think what to say about their mystery friend. What could he tell his dad? That she came out of retirement to hunt down a demon with them? That she saved their asses a few times, or that they know almost nothing about her? Before he could come up with a good reply the door opened, letting in the sound of Dean and Anna arguing.

"I told you I'm  _fine_  Dean. I just pulled the stitches a little! It's not a big deal. You could have been more calm about it. We got the blood didn't we?" She was saying, exasperated. Dean scowled at her. He turned towards his father and brother.

"Next time, we check to make sure she  _not_ going to bleed out before I take her places. When we were walking out some little old lady stopped Anna, thought I was beating her up. I can't go anywhere!" He threw his hands up into the air as Anna withdrew the large jar filled with dead man's blood. She set it on the table.

"I'm going to rewrap my bandages. Shake a leg boys, we have some vampires to kill."


	62. Chapter 62

_Anna_

"Look." John Winchester scratched the back of his neck. Anna let the engine idle. The boys had already headed out in the Impala, both of them irritated after trying to talk her out of going with them. She simply talked them into dizzying circles until they left her alone to get ready.

Dean had slammed Baby's door especially hard. He seemed angrier about it than Sam, his face a dark glower. She lifted the visor of her helmet, raising an eyebrow at John Winchester, waiting for him to continue.

"My boys seem to really like you, and it sounds like you three have been through a hell of a lot together. So I'm going to say my piece and let you make a decision. But you're still bleeding from whatever the hell clawed you up.' Anna started. She hadn't let any of them help her re-bandage her side. There was no way he should have known that she'd been clawed.

"But that's a red flag to a vamp. Stay behind, it's safer for my boys if you don't come along." Anna tightened her lips. Then she reached up to the collar of her riding jacket. She pulled it down, exposing a white scar on the junction between her neck and her shoulder.

"You don't trust me. I get that, I really do. That's smart. If I were you, I wouldn't want me here either. And maybe my injuries make me look like a liability. But believe me when I say, I  _have_  to come. I thought I'd eradicated them all. I didn't fight my way out of what we thought was the last nest, I didn't watch my little sister get torn apart, just to be sidelined when it turns out I fucked up. These vamps, they're  _my_  mess." She pulled her helmet on over her head. John Winchester nodded.

"Then you better not get my boys killed." His face was hard, but his eyes were softer. This was a man who understood a vendetta.

Anna laughed, colder than Kihone in December.

"Even clawed to hell, I'm better than a couple of fucking vampires." She slammed her visor down and tore out of the parking lot.


	63. Chapter 63

_Anna_

_Breath in, breath out. Line up your sights. Breath. Release._

Chiron's advice rang in her ears as she loosed the poisoned arrows. Her bowstring let out a soft twang on the release. Both her arrows hit their targets, straight through the heart. She slung her bow over her shoulder as she followed John and Sam out to the road on silent feet.

"Damn it. Barely even stings." The female vampire scoffed as she turned around. The second one snarled softly even as he swayed slightly on his feet. Anna narrowed her eyes, recognizing the signs of the dead man's blood working through the vampire's system.

"In good time sweetheart. Arrow's soaked in dead man's blood, that's like poison to you isn't it?" John asked. The first vampire collapsed into Dean's arms. Anna drew Eleos, the blade ringing softly against the lip of the sheath. John nodded and she swung the blade. The other vampire's head rolled.


	64. Chapter 64

_Anna_

"Dianne, go." Chiron's old eyes shone with sympathy. She turned helplessly, trying the shake away the guilt. She already knew what she was going to do, but it didn't make the choice any easier. Even after all these years, she couldn't shake to echoing scream of Gabby in that warehouse. It had been her half-sister's first quest, right as Luke failed to collect the apples from the Garden of Hesperides. She'd been twelve years old. And that pack had torn her apart.

"Thank you Chiron." She said it quietly, almost ashamed, but the emotion drowned out mostly by her burning need for revenge. Chiron just waved his hand through the rainbow, cutting off the connection. Anna tucked the glass prism away. She packed up her bag and tossed it by the door. Someone knocked on her door.

"Yeah?" She answered. Sam walked in.

"Hey, dad's coming with us now. We're going to hunt down that demon together. We're heading out in a few..." Sam trailed off as he noticed the cleaned out room.

"You're leaving." He finished his sentence as a statement of fact. Anna nodded.

"I was about to come say goodbye. I'm going to go hunt down the rest of that nest. I, I have to Short Stuff. Vamps and me, we're unfinished business." Sam sighed. He picked up her bag for her and she followed him to the boys room. Dean looked up and groaned. He handed his father twenty dollars.

"I knew it. I knew it and I bet against it anyways." Anna gave him a small smile.

"Dean, I'll be back. I just have some unfinished business to deal with first." Dean grumbled at her even as he hugged her goodbye. She looked over at John. He nodded at her. He knew what she was going to do.

"You be careful now kid." Anna smirked at John. His smile was genuine.

"I always am old man." She reached up and ruffled Sam's hair.

"Later Short Stuff. And Dean?" She paused half in and half out of the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Burn the damn phone." Dean's laughter followed her out of the room.


	65. Chapter 65

_Dean_

Dean and Sam look at the, now, silent phone in horror.

_'Meg has dad.'_

Dean pulled out the phone Anna left them with in Chicago. He kept the old one buried in the bottom of his duffle bag, his own small rebellion against the secrets she kept. This phone could tell him something about her, and even if he never figures out  _what_ , it's something of hers he can keep for himself. He looked from the first number to the last. He called the emergency number.

"Speak."


	66. Chapter 66

_Anna_

Anna's phone rang. She picked it up as she limped through the carnage of the vampire nest she'd just managed to clear out. She glanced at the caller ID. It was a camp line.

"You've reached Oriel. What happened?" Reyna's no nonsense voice crackled through the speaker.

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I'm sending an  _aurae_  with a letter of introduction. I've already sent Nico and Mrs. O'Leary ahead of you. They called the emergency number." Anna took a sharp inhale. Knowing Dean's pride, they wouldn't have called unless they had a  _really_  good reason. Anna also felt her stomach sink, as she realized that she recognized the town Reyna was sending her too. She had a bad feeling about who they were being sent to see. Anna said a quick prayer to her mom, hoping she was wrong. She took a deep breath before asking,

"Where in Sioux Falls am I going?"

"You're going to see a Mars legacy, served the legion before leaving New Rome and retiring as a mortal. Wife got possessed, became a mortal hunter. You can trust him. He owns a salvage yard up there to supplement his income." Anna took a sharp inhale through her nose. So she was being sent to see him. She hadn't set eyes on him since her father died. Since she left the name Isolde Ventura behind her in the ashes of her house. Not since her mother had guided her to Camp Half Blood all those years ago. She sighed silently as she began to calculate how quickly she could get to South Dakota, resigning herself to the inevitable return to her past.

"I'm two states over, who else is nearby?" Reyna shuffled some papers. She heard her shout down the hall to Frank.

"Give me a minute. I'll find you a ride." Reyna hung up. Anna's stomach churned.

All the signs, all her contacts, every monster she interrogated said the same thing. The veil was going to open, and war was coming.


	67. Chapter 67

_Nico_

Nico strolled up towards the motel room door in Salvation. His hair had finally gone back to it's normal black, and Anna had lifted the curse on his clothing when he'd seen her a few months earlier, leaving him in his comfortable uniform of all black and his aviator jacket. The large hellhound panted by his side. He patted her head softly.

"Stay Mrs. O'Leary." She woofed as softly as a tank sized dog could. It rumbled like a thunderclap. Nico smirked and wandered over to the door. He could make out the raised voices of two men inside. Nico's smile slipped a little. He remembered fighting with Bianca like that, once upon a time. Then Nico swallowed harder. The elder brother's aura smelled of the condemned. He was going to die at some point in the near future.

Although, he'd seen the same thing around Dianne when her quest had first started, and she was still alive and kicking a year later. He knocked on the door. A few seconds later it opened a crack, an attractive man with dark blonde hair peering through the opening. Nico waved at Dean Winchester's suspicious face.

"Don't shoot. I'm a friendly!" He deadpanned. Dean's mouth tightened as he unchained and opened the door.

"What are you doing here kid?" He asked locking the door behind Nico. Nico raised his eyebrows.

"You called the number Blu left you right? The emergency line?" Sam looked at Dean.

"Blue?" Dean asked cautiously. Nico huffed. Mortals.

_'No, not just mortals. Mortal **hunters**.'_

Nico reminded himself to be careful even as he smirked.

"Blu is Anna, my sister." Dean nodded slowly.

"So why are  _you_  here?" He asked harshly. Nico gave him a  _duh_  look.

"I'm the cavalry. We don't have time to waste. We need to head to South Dakota." Nico walked back to the door and opened it wide, gesturing for them to follow him.

"Look, kid. You can't be the cavalry. It's to dangerous, and you're what, 16, 17? Just no. we have a demon to kill" Sam shook his head, all of his patience gone. The  _technically_  eighty-eight year old son of Hades allowed the age comment to slide, but he wouldn't forgive the lack of confidence in his skills. Nico let some of his inner darkness out, the part of him he usually kept tamped down. Even Dean suddenly looked a little afraid.

"You're useless dead. And that's what you will be if you don't listen to me. Trust that Blu's got it right. This ain't my first rodeo, and it sure as Hades won't be my last. Now let's go. Blu is on her way, she'll meet us there."


	68. Chapter 68

_Dean_

Sam and Dean followed the kid, Nico, outside. They brothers exchanged glances behind his back. There was something in his eyes, something even darker than John Winchester's when angry.

When Nico had stopped hiding, for that split second, Dean understood why Anna's kid brother was the cavalry.


	69. Chapter 69

_Anna_

Anna grumbled to herself as she allowed Nico to drive her bike.

Nico ended up being the closest, and most efficient mode of transportation; leaving the son of Hades to come back for her, leaving Mrs. O'Leary to guard the junkyard while the boys got re-acquainted with one Bobby Singer. Her bike roared out of the shadows a few miles away from their final destination.

 _*"Grazi fratellino._ " Anna said, with a half hearted smile as she ruffled Nico's hair. He ducked away too late to escape. He hopped off the bike quickly.

*"I guess it wasn't goodbye after all. See in a few minutes  _grande sorella_." Nico smoothed his hair down and melted back into the shadows. Anna revved her engine and roared down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Thank you little brother  
> *big sister
> 
> (Italian)


	70. Chapter 70

_Anna_

A grizzled older man in a worn trucker hat with a slight beer belly opened the door just as she roared into the yard. She lifted her hand in greeting, flashing her letters of introduction that she held carefully in her palm.

"You Bobby Singer?" She called through the bike helmet, walking up to the front porch.

"Depends on who's asking." The man said in a suspicious tone of voice. She handed him the letter of introduction. But it wasn't the one Reyna had sent her. This one was much much older, with faded edges, and the smell of smoke still clinging to the paper all these years later.

"Sidon Ventura's daughter." She said quietly. She remembered Bobby, recognized his face from the moment he had stepped onto the porch. There was no way she could keep her secrets without letting Bobby know first. The older man scoffed, not even glancing down at her father's letter.

"You have a lot of balls coming to  _my_  home, with this letter, talking about her, using his name. Isolde Ventura died in a fire, alongside her father. I should shoot you just for speaking about my dead goddaughter." Anna took a deep breath before she removed her biking helmet. She looked her godfather straight in the eyes for the first time in over a decade.

"Hello Uncle Singer."


	71. Chapter 71

_Dean_

Dean looked out the window when he heard the familiar roar of Anna's Ducati. Bobby had gone outside to meet her, having left the boys with a couple bottles of whiskey and a few books of lore. He watched as Anna handed Bobby a piece of paper that he read very carefully. The old hunter glances between the paper and the woman several times before he says something. Anna shifts on her feet before visibly relaxing her whole body, and removing her helmet. Underneath, her face was a blank mask as she slowly responded to him. Bobby gestured at her harshly and Anna frowns at whatever he said. They continue like that for another few minutes. Dean frowns.

_'What are they doing out there?'_

Anna took a step away just as Bobby stepped forward. He shook his head at whatever it was that she said. Anna gestured forcefully and eventually Bobby nodded. Anna looked shocked by something he said, but nodded slowly. The two of them seemed to have come to some kind of agreement. Bobby turned around and walked inside, Anna hot on his heels.

"Boys, I'd like you to meet someone special." He announced as they walked into the room. Anna looked mildly uncomfortable. Sam glanced up.

"Bobby, that's the friend we told you we were waiting for. Anna Colt." Anna gave them both a tight smile.

"That's not..." Bobby interrupted her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Meet my goddaughter. Anna."


	72. Chapter 72

_Sam_

_"Nico, Come avrei dovuto dirtelo? Non sapevo nemmeno dove ci mandasse Reyna fino a dopo che eri già lì!"_  Anna pleaded, her eyes wide.

 _*"Avresti dovuto dirmelo. Avresti potuto trovare un modo. Pensavo che tutta la tua famiglia fosse morta fuori di no."_  Nico's voice was quiet, but Sam still shivered at it's intensity. The two had been arguing for the last twenty minutes, and entirely in Italian.

 _*"Ho avuto ordini! Da mia madre, da Zeus. Ho giurato sullo styx del fiume Nico!"_ Anna shouted.

 _*"Avresti dovuto fidarmi di me."_  Nico insisted.

 _*"Non pensi che ti avrei detto se potevo? Vieni a visitare l'ultima connessione vivente con mio padre se potessi! Mi è stato concesso il permesso di rivelarmi. Non puoi capire quanto sia difficile per me!"_ Anna's voice dropped lower, her face angry and frustrated. Anna took a deep breath, and as she let it out, her expression smoothed over, and she went almost eerily calm. She stood up and calmly walked out of the room. Somehow that calm was more frightening than if she'd tried to shoot something.

"Are they done?" Sam flinched at the sound of Bobby's voice behind him. The old hunter could be quiet when he wanted to be.

"Yeah, I think so. I can't believe she never told us about knowing you." Sam replied, not thinking about the words coming out of his mouth. Bobby's expression grew harsh.

"You watch your mouth boy. I wish I'd known she was alive all these years and when she turns up alive, out of the blue, it's two steps behind you boys and your mess. I don't want her anywhere near this shit storm. But I knew her father, and she is her father's daughter and nothing short of death could drag her away. So I'm going to sit tight and watch her put herself in harm's way for the Winchester vendetta. So yer going to shut yer mouth when it comes to her. You hear me?" Bobby snarled at Sam. He tired to backtrack, placetating the older hunter.

"Bobby, she's my friend. I don't want her hurt either. I just wish she had told us about her connection to you." Bobby ran his hand over his hair before setting his baseball hat back on tightly.

"Sam, you cannot understand what Anai has been through. She had her reasons and you need to respect that. And you boys are damn lucky to have her on yer side." Nico stormed out of the room. They both watched him go. Dean wandered in from the hallway.

"Is it just me, or is the kid seriously scary?" He asked absently. Bobby snorted.

"Idjits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Nico, how was I supposed to know? I didn't even know where Reyna was sending us until after you were already there!
> 
> *you should have told me. You could have found a way! I thought your whole family was dead outside of us.
> 
> *I had orders from my mother, from Zeus! I swore on the River Styx Nico!
> 
> *You should have trusted me to keep your secret
> 
> *Don't you think I would have told you if I could? Go visit the last living connection to my father if I could! I was granted permission to reveal myself. You cannot understand how difficult this is for me!
> 
> (Italian)


	73. Chapter 73

_Anna_

Anna managed to calm herself down enough to be apart of the conversation again. She crossed her arms as she leaned against the back wall. It stung that Nico was pointedly not looking at her. Bobby passed her flask of whiskey as he walked into the room. She took a short sip before putting it down. No matter how much she wanted it, drinking was  _not_  the solution to her problems. Usually, it made things worse.

"Let me tell you boys, this is some serious crap you've stepped in."

"Oh yeah. How's that?" Sam asked, looking up from the lore book filled with protective symbols.

"Well, a normal year, I might hear of say, three demonic possessions, maybe four, tops." Bobby looked over at Dean. Anna and Nico both struggled not to scoff at those numbers. Demigods killed or destroyed hundreds of demons every year, not that the mortal hunters ever noticed. But that was the point wasn't it? If mortal hunters ever found out about demigods, they'd be hunted. Killed. And even when the camps were careful, they still lost campers to mortal hunters every few years.

"Yeah?"

"Well this year I've heard of twenty seven, so far. You get what I'm sayin'?" Nico finally looked at her. She pressed her lips together tighter. The veil was opening and the fire demon, the Winchesters started calling it yellow eyes, was getting strong enough to pull more of his kind across to serve him. So much so, that mortal hunters are stepping up even more than they've ever needed to before.

"More and more demons are walking among us. A lot more."

"Do you know why?" Sam asked. Anna shifted to listen to what Bobby was going to say

"No, but I know it's something big. Storms comin' and you boys, your daddy? Are smack in the middle of it." Bobby warned. Nico couldn't hold in his snort. Anna glared at him. Dean opened his mouth when Rumsfeld, Bobby's dog, started barking.

Anna stood up, drawing Eleos. Bobby walked over to the window, peeking through the blinds.

"Something is wrong."


	74. Chapter 74

_Anna_

The door smashed inwards. Meg strode into the room.

"No more crap, ok?" She asked. Dean marched forward with a flask of holy water. With a flick of her wrist she sent him flying into the books stacked up in the corner. Sam and Anna both step in front of Nico and Bobby. Both Nico and Bobby try to haul her backwards but she pushed them back.

 _*"Nico, abbiamo lei, stai semplicemente dietro di me._ " Anna muttered quietly.

"I want the Colt Sam, the real Colt. Right now." Anna stepped forward, Eleos in hand.

"You want me? Come at me bitch." She taunted. Meg flicked her wrist. Eleos clattered out of her hand and she flew back into the same corner as Dean. She landed heavily on top of him, knocking him back down. They both struggled to get up, breath knocked out of them both, trapped in a tangle of limbs.

 _*"Sorella!_ " Nico yelled. Bobby hauled the younger boy behind him.

"We don't have it on us. We buried it." Sam said

"Didn't I say no more crap?' Meg seethed, 'I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I gotta tell you. I'm a little underwhelmed. First Jonny tries to pawn off the fake gun, and then he leave the real gun with you two chuckleheads." Meg stalks forward towards Sam, Nico and Bobby. She scoffed.

"Lackluster, man. I mean did you really think I wouldn't find you?" She asked derisively.

Anna propped Dean up with her shoulder as they stood in the doorway of the living room.

"Actually, we were counting on it." Dean glanced towards the ceiling. Meg's eyes followed, all the way up to the Devil's Trap Anna had painstakingly drawn.

"Gotcha." Anna smiled at the demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Nico we have her, just stay behind me.  
> *Sister
> 
> (Italian)


	75. Chapter 75

_Anna_

Meg was tied securely to a chair, ropes tightly winding around her arms and legs. Anna leaned against the wall, watching as Dean tried to get Meg to talk. Nico stood next to her, his anger temporarily dissipated by the fact that her ribs still ached from being thrown across the room.

"Dean!" Bobby snapped when he struck Meg across the face. Dean walked towards the back of the room where everyone was watching.

"You ok?" Anna asked quietly. He ignored her.

"Dean you gotta be careful. Don't hurt her." Bobby warned.

"Why?" Dean growled. Anna pushed off the wall standing next to her godfather.

"Because she really is a girl." Anna added quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"She's possessed. That's a human, possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?" Bobby asked, shocked. Dean and Sam look back at Meg and back to Bobby. Anna felt a sharp pang in her chest. She walked out of the room just as Dean asked if there really was a girl still stuck inside Meg. Nico tried to follow but she shook her head at him.

Anna walked out the front door and headed towards the barn out back where Nico had stashed Mrs. O'Leary. The huge hellhound woofed, the sound rolling over her like the sound of an artillery gun. She gave Anna's cheek a lick, as if she could sense the turmoil inside Anna.

"I should have seen it." Anna whispered.

"I should have seen it!" She an unusual display of rage Anna whirled around as she drew Eleos and slashed at the walls of the very barn she had learned to wield it in. She collapsed to the floor, tears dripping down her face. Mrs. O'Leary sat next to her, and gently nudged the sword out of the way. Anna leaned against the soft fur on her flank. She stayed outside until she heard Meg stop screaming.


	76. Chapter 76

_Anna_

Anna walked back inside in time to see Nico hovering indecisively. Sam and Dean knelt over the broken and prone body of the blonde coed who used to be Meg. The girl was hoarsely telling the boys everything she knew about the demon.

"I could make it easier." Nico muttered to her sadly. Anna wrapped her arm around him, pushing her own boiling emotions away to comfort her adoptive little brother.

*"No you can't Nico.  _Ci darai via._  All we can do is stand witness to her life." Nico leaned into her side, his face carefully blank. Anna hugged him tightly, wishing she could afford to let him help the girl. But the safety of both camps was more important than a few extra seconds of pain.

"Sunrise." Meg choked out.

"Sunrise? What does that mean?" Dean asked her desperately, but it was too late. Anna knew her spirit had left when Nico sagged more heavily into her side. She knew that Nico had taken away her pain in that last moment.

She was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *You'll give us away
> 
> (Italian)


	77. Chapter 77

_Anna_

"You guys better beat it, before the paramedics get here." Bobby warned.

"What are you going to tell them?" Sam asked. Bobby fixed him with a stern look.

"You guys think you invented lying to the cops? I'll figure something out." He held out a book of lore, bound in brown leather. 'Here, take this. You might need it."

"Thanks." The boys said. Anna picked her bag up from it's place next to the front door. She was ready to leave. She couldn't look at Meg's corpse anymore. Not when she, of all people, should have realized that the poor girl was possessed. Anna kept her expression carefully neutral, choosing not to reveal her inner turmoil. Her stomach churned as she stepped out onto the porch. Bobby came up behind her as the boys walked to the Impala, Nico ducking into the backseat. Anna was going to follow them on her bike, unable to bear leaving it behind. Her godfather's hand on her arm, prevented her from leaving. They stood in silence on that porch for a minute before she broke. If it wasn't Bobby, she wouldn't have said a word. But to have back the last adult from her life before camp, not even she could blame her for her momentary weakness.

"I should have seen it Bobby.' She whispered. 'You and Abba taught me better than that." A single tear escaped her control and rolled down her cheek.

"Yeah, you should have. But from what I hear you also lived with the idjit greeks for eight years and then retired for a year and a half. Not entirely your fault that you got rusty. You did what you could by that girl. Now you be careful Isolde. I just found you, I don't plan on losing you before I go." Anna nodded, still not facing him. Bobby gave a gruff chuckle. He squeezed her arm before heading back inside. Anna walked up to her bike and secured her bag. She gave a sharp whistle. Mrs. O'Leary bounded up behind her. Anna gave her a good scratch behind the ears.

"Go home girl. I'll call if I need you." She whispered. The dog woofed before leaping straight into the shadows of the house. Anna waited for Mrs. O'Leary to leave before revving her engine. She roared out of the salvage yard.


	78. Chapter 78

_Anna_

"Please sir! My dog is up there! He's all I have left of my father, please sir I need to get inside!" Anna begged, tears rolling down her cheeks. The fireman that was holding her back was clearly uncomfortable with how her shirt kept slipping down enough to reveal some  _very_  racy lingerie. She waved one hand behind her back to get the boys to hurry up. The fire alarm kept ringing in the background. Anna continued to sob and beg and plead with the poor fireman she was distracting. Nico suddenly ran up to her.

"Dianne, leave the nice fireman alone. If you let him do his job, he can get Ghost out." He said chidingly, leading her away by the arm. As soon as they were out of sight, the two of them burst into laughter. Anna tugged on the plain black t-shirt Nico handed her, one that was much more practical for fighting or generally being seen in public.

"Oh that was a good one. Hermes would be proud of those crocodile tears." Nico wiped at his eyes. Dean and Sam rounded the corner holding up the stolen suits. Anna smirked.

"This is going to be fun."


	79. Chapter 79

_Anna_

Anna grunted as the demon slammed her into a wall. She regretted not bringing Eleos up with her. She flexed her hand, the clawed rings bursting through the thick gloves. She snapped her head forward even as she sliced through the ligaments in the woman shoulder, avoiding major blood vessels. The arm dangled, useless and blood streamed out a broken nose. Anna rapidly attacked pressure points along her side and shoved the temporarily paralyzed demon into a closet. Nico and Dean hauled the other one in after her.

Nico slammed the door of the closet shut, the door rattling on it's hinges. Anna threw her body against it, keeping it closed as Dean and Sam quickly poured a line of salt to keep the possessed demons inside. Shedding layers, Dean barges into the other room. John was tied spread eagle on the bed, his face beaten and bloody. Anna tossed Sam a flask of holy water, a warning written on her face.

"Dean we gotta be careful." As soon as his brother gives him a terse agreement, Sam poured the water on his face. John whispered a question about the Colt, but Anna ignored him as she sliced through the ropes at his feet, the boys freeing his hands. Dean and Sam hauled John to his feet just as someone tried to hack the door down. Nico poured a second line of salt, even as they all backed towards the window. Then, carefully balancing John Winchester, they made their way down the fire escape.

* * *

Hopping to the ground, Anna carefully supported John as Dean climbed down next, followed by Sam and Nico. Dean helped even out the dead weight of his father as they staggered down the alley.

A possessed man leapt out of nowhere, tackling Sam. Nico shouted, snatching his sword from the shadows and swinging down to hamstring the demon. But before the blade could make contact, the demon flicked his wrist, pinning Nico against the wall. Anna panicked at the angry glare in his eyes, knowing exactly what he planned on doing next to one of the escaped servants of the Fields.

 _*"Non esporre il campo! Quel segreto ti accompagna a tuo padre!"_  Anna yelled at him. He glared at her but didn't melt into the shadows the way he was about to. Instead he slid his arm higher against the wall, bracing the blade outwards. He slowly started to work on pulling himself away from the wall. But it was slow going.

Even demigod genetics had its' limits.

In the meantime Sam was getting whaled on by the demon. Anna looked over at Dean. His eyes had gone cold and hard. No mercy.

"Go." Anna ordered, shifting in preparation of taking extra weight. Without hesitation Dean dropped his father's weight entirely onto her as he reached around to the small of his back, withdrawing the Colt. He fired it directly into the demons head. It collapsed, wisps of dark smoke vanishing from the hole he put in its' head. Nico dropped to the ground. Sam stood up. Anna gave a meaningful look to the sword that Nico promptly sent back to wherever he had summoned it from.

"Come one, we've got to go." Anna started to drag John Winchester away from the body. Dean caught up quickly and picked up the other side again. Together they hobbled off, each of them alert for another attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Do not expose the camp! That secret goes with you to your father!
> 
> (Italian)


	80. Chapter 80

_Anna_

"How is he?" Anna asked quietly. She was pouring salt along all the entry points to the abandoned cabin. She'd sent Nico back to camp with a hand written report for Chiron on the situation. She had a bad feeling that the rescue had been too easy. She didn't want her  _fratellino_  anywhere near this mess, especially now that she was there to help.

She was going to protect Nico as best she could, at least until she couldn't keep him safe anymore. She had him take her bike so it wouldn't look suspicious for him to vanish in the middle of nowhere with no wheels.

"He just needs a little rest, that's all." Dean grunted, cleaning his hands from his father's blood.

"Sam?" Anna turned towards her first mortal friend.

"I'll survive." He answered shortly.

"You don't really think they followed us out here do you?" Sam asked, turning around. Anna shrugged.

"Being paranoid kept me alive all these years." She answered noncommittally. Dean took a different track.

"I don't think so. We couldn't have found a more out of the way place to hole up." He reassured his younger brother.

"Yeah." Sam breathed. Anna left the room quietly as Sam started to thank his brother about saving his life. It wasn't her place to listen to that conversation. Nor did she want to. It only reminded her of other people... people who had done the same for her but she couldn't return the favor. Or worse, had lied to or betrayed people who had saved her, all in the name of the greater good. The only reason she believed she had a shot at Elysian was because she had fought for the gods in both wars. Otherwise, she was screwed. She blinked hard as she took a small lap around the cabin, checking the salt lines they had made. Not that it would do much good against anything but the stupider spirits and demons from the supernatural side of her insane world, but it was something. When she had circled back to the front room, Dean was looking down.

"Hey Sam. You know that guy I shot? There was a person in there."

"You didn't have a choice Dean." Sam reassured his brother. Dean slowly shook his head. Anna slowly lowered herself into the seat next the Dean, making sure she was in his line of vision. He didn't object to her being there, so Anna stayed.

"I know, that's not what bothers me." Dean said, almost tonelessly.

"Then what does?" Anna asked gently. Sam turned back towards his brother, looking concerned.

"Killing that guy, killing Meg. I didn't hesitate. I didn't even flinch. For you or dad, the things I'm willing to do... what I'm willing to kill..." Dean trailed off, shaking his head. Anna knelt down on the floor in front of him.

"Dean look at me." Anna ordered gently. He moved his head a half an inch, barely meeting her eyes. 'What you did, what you had to do? It's ok that you didn't flinch. Family is important." Dean shook his head.

"I know, it just. It scares me sometimes." Anna took a shaky breath.

"I'm going to tell you something. Something about me, ok?" Dean nodded slowly. 'It's part of why I retired.' Anna took a long breath. Her mind churned as she quickly edited what had been a disastrous quest to bring a new camper in. Something that could sound like a hunt.

"A few years ago, Nico, me and a few others were tracking this monster. Whatever it was, wherever it went, destruction followed. I mean natural disaster level destruction. We spent weeks tracking it. But when we finally caught up to it, it wasn't a monster at all. It was a little girl. She couldn't have been more than six years old. Telekinetic. Mega powerful kid. But she couldn't handle the power, and it drove her insane. Those storms, they were temper tantrums, the earthquakes were when she was upset, the destruction of human life and property were all the courtesy of her insane mood swings." Anna stopped for a moment, looking down at the ground trying to gather herself.

"Nico and I were running point, and we were completely unprepared, had no idea what we were walking into. When we tracked her to this old barn, we went in, just the two of us. It was practically falling down around our ears. She was sitting in the middle of the barn, playing with some dolls. Having a tea party. And when Nico and I walked in, she turned around and asked in this sweet little voice, 'Will you come play dollies with us?'" Anna refused to let her voice shake, even as she remembered in sickening clarity that horrible day. She could almost hear the little girl's voice echoing in her head.

"I walked up to her and sat down. I put my sword away. I played dollies with a six year old, hoping that maybe she could be reformed, or helped somehow. She was just so  _young_." Anna's voice shook and she swallowed hard. Sam sat down next to Dean, his large hand reaching for her shoulder.

"And that's when I heard Nico scream. When I turned back around, my sword was buried to the hilt in his shoulder. Pinned him to the wall. She asked me to play with her dollies some more. But these dollies were people. Bodies. Victims. And Nico was just added to the collection." She lifted her shirt, showing them both a few of the scars many that covered her body. She traced her hand across seven of them, parallel to each other, running across her lower belly.

"Each line is for a 'dolly' I released. Even if they were dead, I let them down. She threw me through the walls of the barn just to bring yank me back. She made splinters crawl under my skin, just so they could 'dance in pretty patterns,' she would tell me. She posed me with her dolls, forced my body to play her games. And when it was time to go to bed, she chained me to the wall with a heavy iron collar. She curled up right next to me.' Anna patted a phantom child's head, right next to her heart. 'Then in the middle of the night, I pulled out a knife from my boot and I put it through her heart." Anna stopped talking abruptly. She took another deep breath. Tears pricked her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Anna had sworn to herself afterwards, that she would not cry over that little girl. No more than she already had. Anna had staggered out of the barn with dry eyes. She would not break now.

"Nico almost died that day. He almost lost his arm.  _I_  almost died. And it was all because I hesitated in that first minute. As soon as everything healed up I applied to the furthest school from the east coast in the lower 48' as I could get and left for Stanford two weeks later.' Anna peered into Dean's bright green eyes.

"So don't you  _ever_  apologize for protecting your family.' She said harshly.

"For not hesitating. We are at war. Those demons, those people. They're an unfortunate casualty of fighting the battles we fight. As soldiers the price we pay for beating back the darkness is to live with those ghosts every day. But don't ever hesitate. Because thats when the body count gets a little higher on our side instead of theirs. Hesitation has consequences. Always." Anna stood up and walked towards a window, looking for a little air. She hadn't told that story is a long time, and now she was struggling to get her emotions under wraps. She saw Dean walk closer to her, his reflection getting closer and closer.

"Thank you. For telling us." Dean said quietly. Anna didn't say anything, keeping her eyes trained outside.

Unfamiliar footsteps came into the room.

John was up.


	81. Chapter 81

_Anna_

"You're not mad?" Dean asked cautiously.

"For what?" John asked softly.

"Using a bullet." Dean answered promptly, like the good soldier he was

"Mad?" John scoffed. "I'm proud of you. You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you, you watch out for this family. You always have." Anna felt that something was wrong.  _Off_. She eyed John Winchester warily just as the lights started to flicker, and the wind began to howl.

"It found us. It's here." John announced.

"The demon." Sam breathed. Anna immediately began to check her salt lines even as John ordered Sam to double check them too. Even if they were next to useless, it made her feel more secure. But something was wrong. She could feel it, and demigod intuition is exactly what kept her alive during the wars.

"Dean you got the gun? Give it to me." John ordered as he peered out the window. Anna started to edge towards her weapons in the corner even as Dean argued with his father.

"Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation and it vanished."

"Dean this is me, I won't miss. Now hurry." John insisted, then he switched tracks, pleading with his son.

"Son please. Give me the gun." Then he switched again to angry. His rapidly changing emotions were going to give her whiplash.

"What are you doing?" Anna wrapped her hand around the hilt of Eleos. She knew something was wrong. She drew her sword as quietly as she could. Dean looked from his father to the gun in his hand.

"He'd be furious." Dean mumbled to himself. Anna looked at him sharply.

"What?" John snapped. Dean glanced up.

"That I'd wasted a bullet. He wouldn't be proud of me, he'd tear me a new one. You're not my dad." And he cocked the gun, pointing it levelly at John Winchester's head. Anna circled round next to him, pointing Eleos at his throat. This was not her kill. Not yet at least.

"Dean what the hell is going on?" Sam shouted coming back into the room. 'Anna what are you doing?"

"Your brother and friend have lost their minds." Not-John insisted.

"I don't think this man is John Winchester." Anna said evenly. Dean nodded firmly in agreement.

"It's not dad. I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him..." Dean snarled.

"Don't listen to them Sammy." Not-John insisted. Anna edged closer, nudging his clavicle with her blade.

"Dean how do you know?" Sam asked, trying to defuse the room.

"I don't know, he seems different." Dean said hopelessly. Anna tipped her head to the side, looking for the signs of demonic possession. She knew in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong. She knew that the wrongness came from John. But she was out of practice, like Bobby said. She couldn't be sure he was possessed. But Anna was sure John Winchester was the enemy here.

"We don't have time for this," Not-John said, irritated. 'Sam you wanna kill this demon, you gotta trust me." John coaxed. Anna shook her head.

"I don't know what, but something is wrong, and the only new element is him." Anna said evenly. Sam looked between both sides, indecision and pain written across his face.

"No. No." Sam breathed, edging behind Dean and Anna. Not-John just looked vaguely disappointed.

"Fine. If you're so sure of it. Go ahead. Kill me." Not-John dared. Anna glanced at the brothers. Dean looked indecisive. His hand shook, and he hesitated.

_'Di Immortales. Didn't we just have this gods be damned conversation?'_

Anna lunged forward, swiping with her sword. The edge of the blade nicked his shoulder, the golden sand of monsters touched with immortal metal trickling out, but the demon was faster. Eleos was ripped out of her hand as all three of them were pinned against the wall. Not-John blinked and suddenly his eyes were yellow. Anna snarled.

"Well, you found me." The demon taunted, holding the Colt. He sauntered closer to Anna before brushing his mouth against the shell of her ear.

"Ventura." He whispered.

"I'm going to kill you." Anna snarled, jerking her body as far forward as she could.

"Aww, that'd be a neat trick." He scoffed as he trailed his fingers down her cheek before patting it patronizingly.

"Get your hands off her you sick fuck." Dean growled. The demon ignored him entirely as he began to pace, taunting them all.

"You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter. The one in the alley? That was my boy." Dean scoffed, looking up to the ceiling.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I could have killed you all a hundred different times, a hundred different ways by now, but this. This was worth the wait."

"Then get on with it." Anna snapped. 'I hate monologues." The demon in John's body strolled back over to her. Leaning in close he whispered to her, as though they shared a secret.

"I will. In my own sweet time  _Ventura_. See," He suddenly spoke at a normal volume.

"You're special." Anna flinched at the use of her real last name. He abruptly turned around towards Dean.

"See you and her are a lot alike. But then again, you already knew that Dean. You're both desperate to mask all this  _pain_. She hides behind a revolving door of lies and you, you have your jokes to hide behind. Hide from the truth."

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" Dean challenges. The fire demon ignored him, switching tack. Taunting, goading.

"You know... You fight for them, but the truth is, you're the needy one. The clingy one. They don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam is John's favorite, you know? And Anna? Anna here doesn't even trust you enough to share her real name, anything about her past really. She could abandon you at the drop of a hat and you wouldn't be able to stop her. You... Well, you're just useful, and you barely manage to even be that." Demon John smiles as he taunts Dean. Dean's expression froze for a minute.

"Yeah well I bet you're real proud of your kids too huh? Oh wait I forgot. I wasted them." Dean spat back, a cruel smile teasing the edges of his mouth. The demon smiled back for a moment, then snapped his head around to Anna.

The pain was almost worse than when she'd had splinters synchronized swimming in her body. It hurt more than anything Luke and his army had done to her in that arena. She bit down on her lip, refusing to scream; but then the pain intensified and now the scream couldn't claw its way out of her throat. Blood dripped down her body, warm and cold all at once.

"No! Anna!" Both Winchester boys shouted her name. But she was to buried in the haze of pain, too focused on the feeling of blood dripping out of her body to really understand what they were shouting. All she heard was the demon whispering into her ear.

"I did say you were special, didn't I?"


	82. Chapter 82

_Anna_

Anna had known it was coming. But she hadn't really expected to go out like this, pinned to a wall, drained of her blood slowly. Her vision was greying until suddenly the terrible pressure was gone. The pain lessened. She became suddenly aware of the fact she was no longer pressed up against the wall, but was laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

"Anna. Oh god, that's a lot of blood." That was Sam's voice coming from far away.

"Sammy do something, we can't let her bleed out." That was Dean's. Anna forced her eyes open.

"Its ok. I've got a plan C coming. You two worry about your dad." She muttered before passing out.


	83. Chapter 83

_Dean_

Dean glanced down at Anna, covered in blood, laying across his lap in the backseat of the Impala. Her stormy silver eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. Dean focused on that. The phone with the emergency number was gone, smashed by the yellow eyed demon, so they were driving to the nearest hospital as quickly as they could. The old phone she had kept telling him to burn was dead, no charge. All he could do was hold her as steadily as possible, even as the Impala bumped over the rough road. He watched her chest rise and fall.

_'She's still breathing.'_

That thought was the only thing that was keeping him going. The only thing that kept his overwhelming panic and fear at bay. Because for as long as Anna Colt, or whatever her name was, is breathing then she could be fixed. And if she could be fixed, then everything in Dean's world would be ok. She had to be ok. He looked down at her again, checking on the shallow rise and fall of her chest.

_'She's still breathing.'_

"I'm surprised at you, Sammy. Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-eye on this? Killing this demon comes first – before me, before everything." John admonished gently, gripping his ribs tightly. Sam glanced back at Dean's stoic face in the rearview mirror.

"No, sir. Not before everything." Anna's eyes fluttered a little. Dean leaned closer, hoping that she would wake up. The longer she was out, the more dangerous her injuries were. But he was also grateful that she wasn't awake to feel the pain anymore. Dean looked up to hear Sam continue justifying not taking the kill shot.

"Look, we've still got the Colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, alright? I mean, we already found the demon..."

Dean felt himself start to fly a little. Bright headlights flashed, and as sound came roaring back to him, he heard the distinct sound of bones snapping. He tucked Anna in front of him, trying to shield her already battered body.

Glass shattered and metal crunched and Dean knew nothing.


	84. Chapter 84

We’ve made it through season 1, yay! Now on to part 2!


	85. Chapter 85

_Anna_

Anna leaned against the wall of her hospital room. Tessa stood next to her. They were watching her body lay on a hospital bed, machines and monitors hooked to her body, beeping quietly.

"You know what to do?" Anna asked the reaper. She nodded. Thanatos had come through.

"I won't take you across the river. You'll only be down there for a few minutes. Just long enough for the Ghost King to feel your death." Anna glanced out the corner of her eye.

"Nico cannot know." The reaper nodded her agreement. He would hate her for this choice, but it was for his own good. She would not put her little brother at risk. No matter the consequences.

Tessa reached out and traced a finger along her cheek, freezing Anna's body in between heartbeats. The machines next to the bed began to flatline. Doctors and nurses came rushing in. Sam and Dean both raced in after them, forcibly restrained at the door by a couple orderlies. She looked away from them, wishing she erase the agony she'd seen on their expressions.

Anna and Tessa stood and watched as the doctor called a time of death.

Anna followed Tessa out of the room, her spirit pulled towards the Underworld, not once looking back on her grieving friends.

* * *

As they began to unhook the cooling body, the nurse glanced over to her friend sadly.

"Those poor boys. First their father, and now the girlfriend." She murmured. The other shook her head in agreement, eyes filled with pity.


	86. Chapter 86

_Nico_

Nico shouted helplessly at his father. The rage and pain was tearing him apart in a way he hadn't felt since Bianca died. In some ways, this was worse; because Anna had been his anchor after his first sister died. Now he was grieving, lost and drifting in a sea of pain where his only source of light had been extinguished.

"Why can't she appear before me? It's not the same with Bianca when she just wouldn't come. Blu feels disjointed; like something is pulling her away. Something is wrong!" He stormed up and down the area in front of Hades throne. The god just watched his son impassively. His father's blank face served only to upset Nico further. How could he be so calm? How could he been so bored looking, when Nico's world had just been violently ripped out from beneath his feet?

"Your friend has other things to do now Nico. Important tasks. Things only she can do. You must let her spirit be. Now go. You have your own assignment." Nico whirled on his father. Blu was so much  _more_  than just a friend.

"How? This is beyond me, beyond you! The veil is..." Hades stood up, dark eyes blazing, power roiling off the god in waves.

"Enough Nico. She left you a job to do. Dianne had faith that you could finish what she started. Now go!" Nico knew when he had pushed his boundaries to far. Instead of yelling and screaming like a petulant child, he bowed sarcastically before his father.

"Yes father."


	87. Chapter 87

_Anna_

Anna sat up with a gasp. Having her spirit stuffed back into her body again was strange. It felt  _wrong_. It would take time for her to get used to having physical form again. Bobby was sitting next to her, her hand gripped tightly in his.

"You scared me there for a minute Anai. You were really gone." Bobby looked like he'd aged ten years. Anna patted the hand that was resting over her own.

"It takes more than a two bit pawn from across the veil to take me out." She wheezed. Bobby fixed her with a stern glare for her weak attempt at flippancy. She shrugged, after all, she had lived to fight another day. Technically speaking at least.

What else mattered?

"Everyone thinks you're dead." Anna nodded.

"They're supposed to." Anna frowned. "How did you know I'd wake up?" Bobby snorted.

"Give an old man some credit. When I saw your father's failsafe was triggered I knew you weren't going anywhere." Anna groaned.

"I knew I forgot something. The  _failsafe_!" Anna slumped back into the pillows. Bobby laughed.


	88. Chapter 88

_Anna_

Anna stumbled down the stairs of Bobby's house, not paying particular attention to the steps beneath her feet. She had laid in bed all week, and she needed to  _move_. Granted most of that time she was dead, but still, to much laying about was bad for a demigod. They were designed to move. She groaned as she clutched her aching and still fractured ribs. Breathing was a slight problem. But she had more pressing issues at the moment. Namely of the caffeinated sort.

"I need coffee. And something to eat." Anna grumbled to herself. She stepped into the kitchen without looking up.

Breaking crockery made her look up. Sam was standing right in front of her, his hand still clutching for the coffee mug that was now shattered across the floor.

"Ah Styx."


	89. Chapter 89

_Anna_

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sam demanded. Anna coughed weakly. After he'd gotten back his senses he'd lunged at her. With three cracked ribs, sixty stitches and a thousand and one bruises Anna was in no shape to fight off a man a foot taller than her. He'd tied her tightly to a chair and dragged her under the same sigil they'd used on Meg last week.

Then he'd called Dean.

The eldest Winchester stood in the doorway, a dark look on his face

"Short Stuff it's me. I'm Anna. Sam,  _please_." She repeated, begging him to see the truth. Dean finally reacted. He stalked forward, growling at her.

"No. You don't say her name. We sent her body home with her brother. Now who, or  _what_ , the hell are you?" He reaches up to smack her face. Anna threw herself backwards, smashing the wooden chair under her body weight. Her wrist made a funny cracking sound, sending a new kind of pain shooting through her body. Anna sucked in a howl of pain. She stood up and deliberately stepped out of the trap. She raised her hands, ignoring the horrible pain in her wrist. Anna was pretty sure she just fractured it.

"Not a demon." Dean just lunges for her again.

"Then you're something else. I'll kill you for stealing her face." He snarled. Anna dropped and rolled out of reach. Sam tried to grab her from the other side. She ducked away, lightly tapping at the pressure points going up his spine. Sam wobbled and fell over. A second later he sprung to his feet. Her back was to a corner. Newly resurrected brain was really putting a damper on her thinking skills. Both boys advanced on her as she slowly hobbled backwards. The front door slammed.

"Bobby!" Anna yelped. The old man barged into the room.

"Woah woah, what's going on in here?" He asked, stepping between Anna and the boys.

"And what happened to my chair?" He added as he took in the room. Anna waved her uninjured hand towards the brothers,

"Ask them. All I wanted was a cup of coffee." She wheezed. Anna felt something tighten and burn in her side. She pressed a hand over it, trying to stay upright. Bobby did a double take and lunged to catch her before she fell.

"Bobby, get away from that  _thing_. It's not Anna. She's dead. You can't let yourself be tricked just because you want her back" Dean warned. Anna gripped Bobby's arm tightly. Her legs felt like jello.

"Dean, it's Anna. We faked it. Ok? She never actually died. Now what did you two idjits do while I was out?" The room was silent except for her ragged breathing.

"Bobby?" Anna said weakly. She  _hated_  how vulnerable she was. How  _weak_  she felt. But at the moment, she really didn't have a choice. Resurrected, injured and tired; Anna was running on less than fumes. And it was starting to show.

"Yeah kid?" He asked gruffly.

"I think I..." Anna never finished her sentence. She slumped over, giving into the dark haze as the adrenaline left her system.


	90. Chapter 90

_Dean_

Everyone swore as Anna passed out. Bobby gripped her arm tightly, kept her from hitting the floor. Dean lunged and caught the other side of her. Sam ran for a first aid kit. His hands shook a little as he cradled her body close to him. Her warm, living, breathing body.

"It's really her?" Dean asked, his voice tight with hope. Bobby nodded.

"No one was supposed to know she was alive. Not even me. I only found out because someone fudged her plan C, sent her stuff to my place. If she had actually died the girl would have burned it. I brought her here instead of letting them take her back. She's still injured, healing on her own." Dean huffed, his head jumbled up with the additional emotional stress on top of everything else. Somewhere, just underneath the relief he was feeling, came the anger. A burning fury that she was going to let him think she was dead, let him think she was gone and then run off to be away from him. To leave.

"Why did she do this?" He asked gruffly. Bobby looked over at Dean, his expression inscrutable. Dean thought he saw a flash of pity, but the next second it was gone. It was replaced by fear. Fear for Anna. Fear that next time it would be real, and not fake. Dean felt the fear too. The older hunter looked away from Dean, down towards Anna, his expression tinged with pain and fear, even as it softened.

"Because no one looks for a dead girl."


	91. Chapter 91

_Anna_

Anna hissed as she dodged around the claws of the empousa. She snarled as she fought back, her irritation and anger bleeding into an unusually aggressive strategy.

After Bobby had taped her up again, she'd had to endure the lecturing of three mother hens. For a group of macho hunter types, they sure cared a lot. On top of that the Winchester's were still staying at Bobby's house, which meant she couldn't just eat ambrosia and  _heal_. So Anna was stuck, sitting in bed, bored and aching. Eventually she'd gotten so antsy that she snuck out while the boys were in the yard and Bobby had gone out, and picked the first fight she could. Then she'd gone on to kill every monster in a five mile radius of the salvage yard. Then she'd caught a glimpse of Tammi, and that landed her in this situation. Fighting the cheerleader underling of Percy's least favorite fastest reforming monster.

She brought her sword up and slashed. Metal clanged as Eleos dug into the empousa's bronze leg. She dodged the monster's claws before plunging her blade into the evil child of Hecate. With a final scream the monster exploded into yellow dust, leaving behind only the scent of sulfur. She wiped down her blade before sheathing it on her back. Anna examined Tammi's hoard. Empousai as a rule weren't collectors; unlike some monsters, they didn't bother with trophies. Generally, empousai were not unlike the cheerleaders they impersonated, shallow and clothing focused. But Tammi had several strange books about demons and the Christian section of the Underworld.

Anna frowned. She tossed all three books in the fireplace and lit the match. The information in those books don't belong in the hands of mortals. Or even demigods. And definitely  _not_  in the hands of monsters. As the books burned, she carefully checked the rest of the small but lavishly decorated apartment. Nothing but the usual crap Anna would expect from an empousa.

Strange.

She limped back to her bike. Nico had left it with Bobby, something she was beyond grateful for.

The engine's rumble jarred her strained injuries. Bobby was going to kill her if he noticed she'd snuck out. If the brother's found out, she'd be chained to a bed with a guard rotation faster than she could say  _Olympus_.

She sped away, heading back to the house.


	92. Chapter 92

_Anna_

Anna groaned. She should be halfway to her New York safe house by now. Instead she was being held up by the Winchester boys. They'd left for their case or hunt or whatever and she had been back and forth between her own leads and Bobby's place a few times since they'd left. But now they were back. And coddling her. Again.

"I have to leave Dean. It's important." She said stubbornly. Her backpack was swung over her shoulder, Eleos strapped tightly to her back. Her steamer trunk was hidden away in a safe house not even her mother knew about. Well maybe Athena knew. But Anna doubted she'd paid attention. She shook herself when she realized that the elder Winchester had been lecturing her while she was thinking about safe houses. Damn ADHD.

"...are you even listening?" He finally asked exasperated. Anna eyed the older man.

"No. You're being stupid. I'm leaving. I've found what I needed to find and it's time for me to get back on the road." Anna said with finality.

"And where is that? Yellow eyes is still out there and he could come after you! He said you were  _special_  Anna. He called you special and he almost killed you!" Dean roared at her. She refused to back down. She'd been on the beach when Gaea rose. She'd stood her ground alone for hours in the Battle of Manhattan. She'd been caught as a spy in Kronos's army and survived the Arena in the Labyrinth. She'd survived alone in the mortal world for years before making it to Camp Half Blood. Dean  _fucking_  Winchester did not scare her. He groaned, shoving his hands through his short hair in frustration. Anna opened her mouth to respond, but Dean cut her off.

"You  _died_. I don't care how long it was for, or how it technically doesn't count. You  _died_  Anna. You shouldn't be going out on your own yet, and definitely not to some random place you won't tell us about. It's not safe." Anna sighed.

"The place I'm going is about as safe as it gets Dean. That's really all you need to know." She shouldered her backpack and tried to push past the larger hunter. He didn't budge. She sighed and promptly judo flipped him over her shoulder. Anna smirked, expertly hiding the throbbing that had started up in her ribs again.

Anna swung her leg over the bike.

"We live dangerous lives Dean. You shouldn't get attached to people or things. Especially to people who are me. I'll see you on the other side." She gunned her engine and roared out of the yard before Dean could get up to try and stop her.


	93. Chapter 93

_Dean_

Dean ran a hand through his hair. It's been almost a month since Anna left, almost a month and a half since his father died and it had been far to many hours spent contemplating his father's last wishes. It was late August and he and Sam were heading to Illinois to bury John's dog tags with their mom. Dean taps out the beat of the music on the steering wheel as Sam naps in the passenger seat. He sees a flash of blue out the corner of his eye. He ignores it. It's happened far too often for him to feel comfortable.

Dean doesn't notice the dark blue pick up that turned off the previous exit.


	94. Chapter 94

_Anna_

Anna sighed heavily. She got a tip (read: angry threat) from Hades about a Greek necromantic ritual gone wrong in Greenville, Illinois. An abomination. Naturally, that means  _Anna_  has to deal with it.

She tapped out the beat of a song she'd not really listening to as she nervously drove her truck. Nico had left it covered in dust in storage, clearly unused and unvisited. If only she could tear him a new one for not taking care of her things while she was away. But that would defeat the point of pretending to be dead. Enough people knew about it already.

She  _really_  hoped he didn't go check on her car for a while. At least until  _after_  she figures out the veil. She groaned thinking about what Nico is going to do when he learns she didn't stay dead. There was little doubt in her mind that a certain son of Hades would be in town to bring the missing soul back to the Underworld.

Nico was going to be  _so_  pissed if he sees her.


	95. Chapter 95

Anna

Anna groaned when she saw the dug up grave. Not only was she to late to stop the damned ritual, but by the looks of the Impala she'd passed on her way into town, the boys were here. Nico would never be so sloppy as to leave an unearthed grave like that. She flicked on her flashlight and examined the greek lettering on the exposed casket. Whoever had carved the ritual was clearly a rank amature. The spelling was wrong, and the conjugation was terrible. The caster was lucky he didn't die in the process. As it was, whatever he raised likely came back wrong. All in all very crude, as well as a dangerous spell. But effective. She could see why Hades would be angry that such a spell not only existed but was used. If the work had been done correctly, she had no doubt that it would have worked. She needed to find the book it came from.

Anna shook her head in disgust as she climbed back into her pick up. She missed her bike, but it was too recognizable. Everyone knew she loved the damned thing. She quietly pulled away from the graveyard just in time to see her favorite hunting duo race through the front gates, followed by a rotting corpse. She parked and turned off her head lights, watching.

Dean managed to stake the corpse and they set the whole mess on fire. She watched the shadows condense tightly around a tree right behind the boys. Anna ducked down as soon as she realizes who just arrived. She prayed to her mother for one lucky break. Maybe Nico won't notice her car, shrouded in shadows across the street. But she knows better. She had a better chance of having a pleasant vacation in Tartarus than she did of the Ghost King not noticing her. After all, Anna had trained him better than to ignore such an obvious thing. She groaned and sat back up.

Sure enough, Nico was staring at her with a mixture of shock and anger. She gave him a guilty wave.


	96. Chapter 96

_Anna_

Anna drummed her fingers nervously on the steering wheel. Nico had gone with her to steal the book on raising the dead with the abomination of a ritual. They'd burned it as an offering to Hades. If the Winchesters had seen her make that offering, speaking quiet words in Ancient Greek, they would have shot her on principle.

To hunters, demigods are just another  _thing_  to kill. Anna could never let herself forget that, no matter how much she cared about her friends; they could never know about her.  _Especially_  Dean with his black and white worldview. Even if being around him made her wish she could... Anna shook her head, clearing away the dangerous thoughts.

But they didn't see them, and she and Nico are in her car, Nico refusing to look at or speak to her. He hadn't said one word to her since he'd gotten into her car at the graveyard. Instead she drove in silence, heading towards her safe house.

Anna's chest tightened painfully. She knew he was going to be angry, and she knew that what she had done would hurt him. But it had been the right strategy. It still was. She was closer than ever to finding the fire demon; or Azazel, as she learned his name was. She wanted to tell the boys, but names held power. And it wasn't time yet. But she was close. But knowing that victory was close didn't make the pain of Nico's anger any easier.

Anna still wasn't sure what she could do about the veil. She still didn't know what in Hades it was. But as soon as this gods forsaken quest/adventure/mission was over, she was going to copy her younger sister. Screw getting an education in the real world. Anna is going to retire to New Rome and never leave the safety of Terminus's borders until she dies.

She glanced uneasily over at Nico. His arms were crossed and he radiated darkness, shadows wrapping around him tightly as though he was wavering between shadow traveling away and staying. Anna turned off the highway and pulled up a long dirt road. The tires crunched and churned over the gravel drive and finally she pulled up to a small farmhouse. She got out of the truck and waited for Nico to follow her before she went inside.

* * *

Her walls were heavily protected against uninvited guests, swirls in the paint's texture the only hint that the pale blue and silver walls were warded. The front door and all the outer walls were reinforced with iron that was threaded with other enchanted metals. The house was demigod safe. Even for Big Three kids, modifications Anna had made as soon as Nico became her family, and later on the protection was for Percy too.

Anna went straight to the kitchen, setting out food she had bought last week when she first moved in that particular safe house. Nico accepted the plate of food she silently shoved in front of him as he studied the house.

"So this is where you've been hiding all this time?" Nico asked. Anna flinched at the detached tone in his voice. Nico was one of the very few people she trusted, on the very short list of people she had shared any of her past with. One of only three people on the list of people outside her own blood, she'd ever really let herself love. But she'd kept her secrets. And her secrets may have whited out one of the few people she had ever let herself rely on.

"Only one of many." She answered him quietly, allowing Nico to see her shame. His mouth tightened with displeasure.

"I felt you die." Nico said. Anna nodded.

"I did. For a about a minute I was dead. Much like a drowning victim might be dead for a few minutes before coming back to life." Nico gave her a short nod. He stood up and stiffly walked over to her. Anna stayed perfectly still.

"Don't you  _EVER_  do that again." Nico buried his face into her shoulder as he hugged her tight. Anna was so surprised it took her a few seconds to hug him back.

_*"Sono così dispiaciuto fratellino. Mi dispiace molto."_  Anna murmured to him, stroking his hair. Nico let out a choked sob and tightened his grip on her. Her heart broke a little in that moment. Nico had lost enough, and what had she done to him? She'd left him. She'd left him alone. Again.

After a few minutes Nico took a deep breath and pulled away. His face was arranged into the blank mask she'd seen him pull on so many others. A mask he hadn't needed yet when she'd first met him. It was the first time he'd used it on her. Anna had a sick feeling it wouldn't be the last. Anna noticed muscles subtly tensing in his shoulder and side. She flinched but otherwise stayed still as his fist flew into her face. Anna's head snapped back from the blow, blood dripping from her, now, split lip. She hung her head. Nico marched to the other side of the table and slumped back down.

"Why?" Anna studied the table, carefully avoiding looking at Nico.

"I can't tell you." She whispered. Without looking she knew Nico was fixing her with one of his infamous glares.

"Why?" He didn't raise his voice. He didn't make it go cold or hard. He wasn't even pleading. It was much worse. It was robotic, monotone. He sounded like he didn't even care. Anna flinched.

*"It's not safe.  _Fratellino, questo è pericoloso. Le persone stanno morendo Potrei morire. Ti voglio al sicuro Voglio proteggere tutti. E ... nessuno sospetta una donna morta."_  She finished quietly, speaking in perfect Italian, begging him to understand. She loved him, more than anything. Nico had fought enough, lost enough, hurt enough. Anna needed him to understand, and then for him to go home and forget he saw her alive. Nico stood up, the chair legs quietly squeaking on the hardwood floors she had so carefully restored.

"I deserved to know." The English was a slap to the face. Nico has refused her, choosing his robotic English over their fluid Italian banter. Anna refused to allow herself the release of crying. She deserved this cold rejection, the pain tearing away at what was left of her frozen heart. She'd ruined one of the best things to have ever happened to her, but at least Nico was safe.

This pain was worth it. Wasn't it?

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *I'm so sorry little brother. I'm so very sorry.   
> **Little brother, this is dangerous. People are dying. I could die. I want you safe. I want to protect everybody. And... nobody suspects a dead woman.
> 
> (Italian)


	97. Chapter 97

_Anna_

Anna took another heavy swallow from the tumbler in her hand. She was in Indiana, tracking down a pastor who claimed to have seen beyond the veil. The pastor was an idiot. But on her way out she'd run into Nico. The son of Hades pretended he didn't see her. Had looked away, as though she didn't exist to him anymore.

It's almost been four months with no contact between the two. And when she finally got to see her little brother, he refused to acknowledge her. And it was Anna's fault. So instead of being an adult and dealing with her problems, she wandered into a bar and ordered several drinks. She tried to go slowly, but that day was special. Nico knew it was special. But he acted like he didn't care. Just like when she'd left him. It was all Anna's fault.

She glared at the bottom of her glass. She was buying drink by drink, trying to keep the consumption of alcohol reasonable. But today was  _special_  damn it. Today after all, was the anniversary of her Abba's death. She had already drunk the finger of her father's special whiskey in his honor. Now she was drinking to drink. She waved the bartender over and ordered another round, dropping a couple bills. The room seemed to sway around her a little. It was strange. She suddenly decided to cut herself off, dropping more money to cover the wasted drink and unsteadily making her way out of the bar.

Somewhere in her drunk mind she realizes that trying to ride her bike is a piss poor choice. So instead of riding, she props herself up with the heavy machine and slowly and unsteadily walks along the road, completely ignoring the loud wailing sirens as police cars race past her. Anna stumbled along down the road, trying to make her way out to the clearing where she could pitch the tent Thalia had gifted her last time she had run into the huntress. But Anna was too drunk, and too frustrated, to understand where she was actually going. The world spun strangely and Anna gave up. She managed to yank the bike far over to the side of the road and Anna sat on the ground, trying and failing, at breathing through the nausea that washed over her.

_'I drank to much.'_  Anna sighed to herself. She didn't even look up when a car pulled over. Today was special. And she was being stupid on it. If something bad happened, well, today was special for bad things.

"Anna?" A familiar voice called. She waved lazily as she took another deep breath. She didn't bother reaching for her weapons. Too drunk to do any damage. So drunk, in fact that she was more likely to kill herself, than any attacker if she tried to draw a weapon. Even drunk, Anna was oddly logical. A gift from her mother probably. Or a curse from her dangerous life. She couldn't decide which.

Dean crouched down next to her, his face swimming in the corner of her eyes.

"Sup'" She mumbled. Another door slammed. The loud sound made her wince. Big feet walked over and suddenly she was standing. Anna wavered on her feet and promptly sat down again. She was on the floor for a  _reason_  damn it.

"Anna, what's wrong?" Sam's voice was soft. Sweet. Like cotton candy. Anna giggled at the thought. A rough hand swiped at her face, a calloused thumb rubbing over her cheek.

"Anna, sweetheart, what's wrong?" This time it was Dean. Dean was rough, with hard edges and coarse words. But inside he was shiny. She told him so.

"Like those pretty rocks inside but not so pretty on the outside rocks. Even if you are a pretty on the outside kind of rock too." She mumbled out. Sam snorted in surprise as Dean hauled her to her feet again. This time she stayed up. But her feet weren't on the floor. Anna glared at her toes that were hovering in the air as Dean carried her. It was like a betrayal. Her feet should be  _on_  the ground. Not above it.

"You're drunk." Dean sighed. Anna laughed, leaning her head all the way back, relishing in the sensation of the cold wind breezing across her neck. She looked over at Dean's face and lazily poked his cheek.

"Nope.' She said cheerily, popping the p hard. 'Today is special. So I'm going to a place. A place because today was special." She insisted. She needed to get back to her campsite. She wanted to unpack her tent and keep remembering her Abba. And forgetting how she hurt Nico.

_'No, don't think about that, that way leads to bad.'_  Anna frowned at the thought.  _She_  was bad. Anna felt a few traitorous tears slip down her face. She was bad, because she hurt Nico. She left him  _alone_ when he was already so lonely and only just learning to let others in and she  _left_. Anna did bad.

She hadn't quite noticed that she was saying this out loud. She was too busy trying to not throw up on Dean. Anna ignored the flashing lights of the police cars as they drove past again. She just mumbled about how bad she'd been and how she'd hurt Nico and she felt so terribly  _bad_  about it but it was too late and now it was the special day and she didn't have Nico anymore. Anna was tired. And she missed her  _fratellino_.

"Sammy, take her bike and her stuff. I'm putting her in the car. You go check on Ava, I'm taking Anna back to the motel." Dean's voice rumbled through his chest. Anna suddenly felt the urge to giggle. So she giggled. It was nice. So were the rumbles in Dean's chest when he talked. Anna tipped her face forward and suddenly remembered why she had been at the bar.

Today was special and Nico had ignored her. Anna frowned. She tried to get down on the ground, wanting to pull out the bottle of cheap tequila she had wanted for later to sleep, but she wanted it now instead. Dean didn't let go, and instead walked to the Impala he so loved. Anna grumbled half heartedly, but allowed herself to be laid across the backseat when she realized that inside the car was warmer than the outside. She settled in as Dean and Sam chatted in quiet voices for another minute. The car door slammed. The whole car growled under her body as the engine turned over. The rumbling was soothing.

"Dean?" Anna mumbled. The older Winchester looked back at her.

"Yeah?"

"Just checking it was you." She muttered and fell asleep.


	98. Chapter 98

_Dean_

Dean quietly got out of the car, leaving the door partially open so that the slamming didn't wake up the sleeping hunter in the backseat. He unlocked and propped open the motel room door before rushing back to the car.

It had been worrying to see the ordinarily level headed hunter stumbling  _drunk_  on the side of the road. It was even more concerning when she hadn't fought them about her bike. She loved that thing. But when Anna had started mumbling nonsense to him, he'd been straight up terrified.

Before that night Dean hadn't seen Anna have more than a drink or two, always insisting that she should never be unaware of her surroundings.

Tonight she'd been completely oblivious. His chest constricted as he remembered how she didn't even look up at them when he and Sam had pulled over and gotten out of the car. When he'd picked her up she'd been crying while mumbling about a special day and telling Dean he was shiny and Sammy was like cotton candy and that Dean was a pretty rock. They hadn't seen her in months, hadn't known what the hell she was doing, knowing nothing but that she was alive; and that was from Bobby. Dean was still angry about the faked death thing, but in that moment he couldn't bring himself to care. All that mattered was that she was in his arms, coming into his motel room, where he could watch over her.

Keep her safe.

Even if it was only for a little while.

Anna mumbled in another language, one he hadn't heard her speak before. It was mesmerizing, even as Anna's face crumpled at whatever it was that she was dreaming about. Dean set her down on the bed carefully before sprinting outside to lock up Baby. By the time he got back inside, Anna was thrashing on the bed; tears streaming down her face as she mumbled in another language. She seemed to be switching between multiple.

"Hey, hey. Anna you're ok. You're safe." Dean tried to reassure the distraught young woman, but she didn't wake up. Dean tried shaking her, yelling her name, even lightly tapping the side of her face. None of it worked.

Worried she was going to hurt herself while thrashing, Dean pinned her arms; immobilizing her against his own chest. She continued to whimper and mutter but seemed to relax a bit. Dean did too. He carefully rearranged them so that he was leaning against the wall with Anna propped against his chest.

 _*"Συγγνώμη.אני מצטער Mi dispiace. Je suis désolé. Tá brón orm. Me paenitet._ " She mumbled over and over. Dean caught the Latin at the end.

 _'I'm sorry?'_  He thought, dismissing the oddity of using a dead language while sleep talking. He realized that Anna called today special. Probably someone had died. Someone important. Earlier she had also said something about Nico, and something about her being bad. Dean looked down at Anna, tears trickling down her cheeks, dark hair a messy halo against his chest.

He realized that some other people must have found out she was alive. Including Nico. And the kid was probably as pissed as he and Sam had been. Actually, he was probably even worse than him or Sammy, considering he was her family. Dean frowned as he pieces through the drunken ramblings he'd picked up from her. Nico must be ignoring her or he'd forgotten whatever today was to her or something like that to get her so upset. He'd never seen her lose such control over herself before. Even in that fucking shack when she'd talked about that little girl that went psycho she had more control. Her hands clenched and unclenched, as she tossed her head from side to side while muttering words he didn't understand. He sighed, refocusing on the present, absently smoothing the wrinkles on her forehead as Dean started to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *I'm sorry [greek, hebrew, italian, french, irish, latin]


	99. Chapter 99

_Sam_

Sam walked into the motel room after parking Anna's bike. It was surprisingly comfortable, and incredibly fast. Ava was missing, and the only thing he could find in her apartment was sulphur leftovers and her dead fiance. Sam groaned as he let himself into the cheap motel room as he rubbed his temples. Then he got a good look at the scene in front of him.

Dean and Anna were sleeping together. Or rather, Anna was sleeping  _on_  Dean. And they were both fully clothed. And actually asleep.

In a strangely out of character showing, Dean seemed to have been a gentleman for once.

_'What the hell is going on?'_  Sam wondered.

While Dean did tend to sleep with any warm blooded female he could, it was never this, literal. And beyond the first time they met, Dean had always been surprisingly respectful towards Sam's friend. But this was something else. Sam quickly took a picture of the, rather cute, scene. Smirking he leaned over his older brother.

"And just what the hell are you doing with my best friend?" Sam asked in a low voice. Dean flinched awake, jostling Anna, who  _didn't_  wake up. She doesn't leap out of bed with the fluid grace of a predator, the way she usually would. She just muttered something in another language and turned to her side. It worried him, that she was so drunk. Dean glared at his brother and carefully shifts himself out from under Anna.

"Not. A. Word." He growled. Sam snorted and held up his phone, flashing the picture he'd already taken.

"Chick flick moment." Sam whisper sang in victory, pushing away his worry for Anna for a moment. Dean let out a half hearted snarl as he followed Sam out of the room. Sam just smirked at him.

"So what happened with Ava? Is she ok?" Dean asked gruffly. Sam shook his head.

"Brady is dead, and I found traces of demonic activity in the house. She's missing." Dean snarled, this time for real.

"We're going to find her." Dean says quietly, an order, before turning to go back inside. Sam goes to follow when he heard a strangled yell come from behind him. Dean and Sam both turn around to find three very angry looking strangers covered in a strange yellow dust. Sam absently realized that Anna would sometimes come back covered in the same dust after she disappeared.

"Who in Hades are you and where is my sister?" The only girl asked, a near perfect replica of Anna. The only real difference between the two is that Anna has dark hair, and is older. They share the same eyes, and nose. The same intimidating glare. Sam could swear they were related except that Anna has never mentioned family outside of Nico, and maybe one or two people in passing who've died. The two boys next to her looked just as angry, the shorter one hidden in shadows, but slightly familiar. Dean stepped in front of Sam and blurted out.

"Who the fuck are you people?"


	100. Chapter 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! 100 chapters! Almost done, thanks to all of you guys for sticking with me through this wild ride.

_Dean_

Dean was confused by the sudden appearance of the teenagers. The blonde was slightly terrifying, glaring at him with icy grey eyes that Dean had once thought only existed on one other person. She had a backpack and a strange tube shaped case that he'd seen Anna use before; not that Dean had ever seen what was inside it. The taller boy next to her was tan with messy black hair. His eyes also unnerved the hunter. He was fiddling with something in his pocket. The smaller boy stepped forward.

Nico.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized his friend's adoptive brother. He relaxed a little as he started to explain to the new comers why they shouldn't go inside.

"She's inside. Sleeping. We found her..." the girl cut him off.

"I don't care, I want to see her." The taller boy hadn't said anything yet, but followed as they tried to get past the brothers.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. No. She's sleeping and upset and doesn't need people we don't know barging in on her." Dean blocked the two strangers. The blonde snarled and started to attack him when the taller boy who'd followed her held her back.

"Annabeth, I'm sure she's fine. But attacking these men, who are  _protecting_  her, isn't helpful." He muttered to her quietly. The blonde, Annabeth, growled. She looked back at Nico.

"Death Boy so help me, I will  _send_  you to your  _father_  the hard way  _unless_  I see my  _sister_  in the next  _two_  minutes." The girl snarled through gritted teeth. Dean looked at Nico, the shock of seeing the three appear outside the motel wearing off. Anger set in quickly as he remembered some of what Anna had been saying.

"No." Dean said before Nico opened his mouth. The teenager frowned.

"What?" He asked, dark eyes narrowing in irritation. The boy's hand drifted to the black sword strapped to his side, which Dean  _knew_  he could use. Deans stood his ground anyways.

"I said  _no_. Sam and I found her blitzed out of her mind mumbling and crying about how today was special and that she was bad because  _you_  were angry. Now I don't know what the fuck is going on with you two, but it sure as hell shouldn't have pushed her to this. So no." Dean crossed his arms. Sam shot him a look Dean didn't bother to decipher. His younger brother backed him up anyways. Annabeth rounded on the smaller boy.

"What in Hades did you do Nico?" Her voice was dangerous. Nico swallowed hard.

"I, I... I was angry. And, I, well, I left her after I found out and I've kinda been... ignoring her?" His sentence got quieter and quieter until his last words were barely audible. But it was enough. Annabeth let out a string of angry sounding words in a language that Dean recognized only because Anna had spoken it before. Meanwhile the tall boy next to her restrained the angry blonde. But Dean easily recognized the look of familial disappointment on his face as he looked at Nico. Apparently the kid had really fucked up.

"... of all people, you should know better than that!" Annabeth had abruptly switched back to English. Nico hung his head in shame.

"I know." It was all the younger boy offered. Annabeth swung back around to face the brothers.

"Now move out of my way or I swear to the  _gods_  I will make you. And I promise it  _will_  hurt." She threatened. Dean struggled not to obey immediately. She held herself with a similar confidence and grace Anna did. But less like a predator, more like a soldier. This girl was used to giving and receiving orders. Dean didn't move.

"Sorry sweetheart but I don't know you. I don't know your boyfriend, and I'm not letting Nico near her until she is sober and willing. Come back in the morning." Sam stepped around Dean.

"How did you find her anyways?" Dean swore silently. His brother was right. How the hell did three teenagers find them in the middle of the night, in some random town in the middle of the midwestern United States? The taller boy held up a device.

"When we heard she was actually alive we had Leo activate the tracker in her bike. Annabeth and me were the closest and we dragged this  _idiota_  along to find our favorite missing family member." Dean frowned. How many people were in her family? Why did she never talk about any of them? And who says favorite missing family member so casually? He sighed, deciding it was a discussion for another day. Then they heard the bloodcurdling scream from inside.

Everyone bolted for the door.


	101. Chapter 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter does include some descriptions of violence and torture. It is a recap of some of Anna's more traumatic moments. You can skip this chapter and still understand the story.

_Dreams_

_The house was on fire. Everything was burning and her Abba was screaming in pain. Isolde was outside, the tall lady who looked just like her holding her back, the grip on her arm tight. The lady was stopping her from helping Abba. Isolde fought back as best as she could, pushing back her sobs as she thrashed in the woman's firm grip._

* * *

_The flames shifted and grew until they fell away into small pinpricks along a round tunnel wall._

_The room is dark. She's in the labyrinth, after the failures of the telekhines on Mt. Saint Helens. After all she was the one who had alerted Hephaestus under the pretense of checking on the monster's progress. But her real mistake was in helping her baby sister escape back to the safety of the god's forges. Now Luke knows she's a spy._

_She raced blindly through the tunnels, trying to outrun fate._

* * *

_Torches flicker with red flames. A crowd roars around her, the screams and boos and hisses pressing in on her ears; the sounds ampliphied by the design of the underground arena._

_She weakly lifts her head in defiance. She hasn't screamed yet. Her blood runs down her back, staining the sand. Antaeus frowns. She isn't good entertainment. She refused to be good entertainment. Dianne doesn't beg, she's far too proud for that. Luke flicks his hand, bringing in a new tormentor, looking for entrance into Kronos's army. Someone poured nectar over her back, temporarily healing her. She watches as two Scythian Dracanae slither into the arena, their eyes lit with sadistic excitement. Dianne prepares herself for more pain._

_The dracanae favored knives, slicing into her skin; some places deep, other shallow. The snake women are masters at their art, knowing how to bring her the most pain, with the least amount of actual damage. After them come the telekhines, who favor fire, then a giant that likes to break bones. She loses track of what tries to make her scream, only really noticing the instruments of her pain. Bullwhips, poisons, swords, knives, electricity, fists and more. They tear her body apart and put it back together; bringing her to the brink of death before pulling her back. It became one of Antaeus's favorite games. Soon she was refusing to scream, not out of pride, but for the continued safety of camp. She knew the moment she gave in, Luke's army would be granted passage through the arena._

* * *

_The fire flickered, changing from red to green. Greek fire, burning across a battlefield filled with screaming soldiers. Screaming children._

_She changed her name to Anna, Dianne a painful reminder of the arena, when Antaeus would call her forward to be tortured in the ring. She was fighting in the streets of Manhattan, watching her family get cut down all around her. A pack of hellhounds advanced, their red eyes glowing in the night, teeth flashing in the dim streetlights. She called for the next wave of Greek fire to be launched. Then it was chaos. She hacked her way through Kronos's army, wielding Eleos in one hand, a celestial bronze dagger in the other. Battle was a bitter dance, the elegance of her skills, her strategy bringing down the enemy. But when her steps wavered, her family died around her._

_Anna is alone as she defends her position._

* * *

_She's on Olympus, watching over the shrouds covering the dead from the war. There is a party going on but she can't tear herself away from the shrouds. They haven't been taken to camp for the final rites yet. So Anna stands guard. Bearing witness to the Heroes of Olympus. Too many of them belong to her friends. Too many belong to her siblings. Now she's the oldest Athena camper. One of the oldest half bloods left._

* * *

_Fire roars around her. What should have been a simple quest to kill some empousai that were harassing some nymphs has turned into a forest fire. Anna stands back to back with Cory, a son of Eurus; the west wind. Luckily the two empousai are dead. Unluckily, they're trapped in a ring of fire. Cory looks at her helplessly. He'd been sweet on her for a few months, but she wasn't ready to commit. Suddenly he mouthed I'm sorry at her. Before she could react a strong wind gusted, shoving her through a small gap in the flames even as the fire grew bigger and hotter within the small cirle they'd been trapped inside of. Anna listened as he screamed while he burned. All she could do was run._

* * *

_Orange flames roar as they change to a poisonous gold._

_Once again she is surrounded by enemies. Separated from both camps surrounded by the idiot augur Octavian's monstrous forces even as the Greeks and Romans used the remaining onagers to fire the dangerous charges at the monsters she was surrounded by. She dodged the impacts as best she could, the shrapnel flying everywhere, getting into her armor, digging gouges into exposed skin. Suddenly a massive hellhound comes out of nowhere and she's fighting for her life even as the beach explodes around her, the earth sucking at her body and the excruciating snap of her knee under the claws and weight of the monstrous dog. The hellhound melts away into shadow as Chris Rodriguez, backed by Clarisse appear before her. The two demigods haul her towards the Apollo field hospital, but the the world explodes around them and everything fades away._

* * *

_Her dream shifts and she's back in that cornfield, looking for the next demigod she'd been sent to retrieve. A daughter of Hecate. Anna had been sent to find her by the goddess herself. The rotting barn is in view. Her stomach sinks. She knows what's next._

* * *

_Anna screams as her own weapons are turned against her. Knives slicing through her body, Eleos carving into her skin when she frees her friends. Nico, weak with blood loss barely crawls over and just as the others shadow travel away, Anna is yanked back by an invisible force._

_The little girl._

_She's trapped against a wall as the sadistic girl sweetly tells her how pretty she looked with the dancing wood._

_"Like flowers." She says in her small little voice. Anna screams as the splinters under her skin move into new patterns. The girl frowns. Somehow she can still see through the sweat, tears and blood running down her face._

_"That sound isn't very nice. We have to use our inside voices you know." The little girl instructs. Reaching for the knife on the table._

_"When you do bad things you get punished." She instructs. The knife slicing into her side is almost a welcome distraction from the movement of the splinters in her skin. She screams and screams and screams and screams._

_But nobody will ever hear her._


	102. Chapter 102

_Dean_

Dean bursts into the room, followed by Sam, and then Anna's family. The hunter is writhing in the bed, sobbing and screaming in another language.

_*"Σας παρακαλούμε! Συγγνώμη! Παρακαλώ παρακαλώ παρακαλώ! Συγγνώμη! Οχι! Παρακαλώ! Οχι! Να σταματήσει! Συγγνώμη!"_  She screamed and whimpered. Then a steady stream of names poured out of her mouth, with no and please interspersed throughout. Then back to the strange language. Some of the names made Nico, Annabeth and the older boy pale but they rushed to her side anyways.

*" _Sorella_ , you're safe. You aren't there anymore.  _Svegliati sorella. Mi dispiace, mi dispiace, mi dispiace. Svegliati!"_  Nico said, shaking her. Annabeth looked at the other boy, whose name Dean  _really_ needed to learn, and they both went to the bathroom. They came out with two full cups of water.

"Move Nico." Annabeth ordered coldly. The younger boy moved out of the way. Dean noticed the tear that had traced down the side of his face. Annabeth then poured the water out over Anna's face. The other boy handed her the second glass. She did it again and this time Anna shot up, fists swinging. Annabeth expertly dodged one but Dean wasn't fast enough and he got clipped.

_'Jesus, even drunk she hits hard.'_  He groused to himself before dropping down to check on the sobbing Anna. Annabeth had an arm around her and was whispering to her about how she was safe and she wasn't there anymore and that she was dreaming.

Anna was still out of it, her eyes glazed, completely unaware of her surroundings. She was still tense with fear and her breathing was short. He sat on her other side, gently cupping her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Anna breath with me." Dean instructed. Sam and the other boy stepped out of the room, leaving Nico hovering in the doorway, with Annabeth and Dean flanking the distraught Anna. The blonde girl switched to another language, murmuring soothing words to her even as Dean forced her to make eye contact with him.

"Breath with me. In. Out." He ordered, looking her in the eye and demonstrating. In and out. She followed. In and out. Annabeth nodded approvingly at him. Anna turned her head away as her breathing came easier and the sobs abruptly stopped, her face smoothing over. It was eerie how quickly she was able to hide away her feelings.

"Annabeth?" Her voice was so quiet he almost didn't hear her. Something inside Dean was disappointed that she hadn't said his name first. He squashed that part of him down, locking it up tighter than Anna's steamer trunk. He just held her hand and sat in silence as his friend looked at her younger sister.

"I'm here Blu. We came as soon as we heard." Annabeth whispered. Anna tipped her head sideways.

"You aren't mad?" Her sister snorted.

"I'm furious. But you're too drunk to be properly afraid of me. I'll kill you in the morning. Besides I have an idiot cousin in law to kill first." At this Annabeth glared at Nico who paled even more. Dean frowned, cousin in law? This girl was younger than Anna, how was she married? But he glanced at her hand. A simple silver band with a few decently sized grey, blue and green stones glittered on her ring finger.

_'Who married the scary jailbait?'_  He wondered. Anna smiled.

"You and Percy finally bit the bullet?" The joking Anna was shining through. Annabeth laughed.

"Well, unlike a certain sister of mine, we plan on having everything we can before we actually bite the proverbial bullet." They both grew somber for a moment. Then they laughed.

"Cousin in law?" Anna finally asked. Then a look of understanding came over her.

"Nico told you..." her head whipped around and found the younger boy.

_*"Hey sorella maggiore."_  Nico said quietly. Anna got off the bed and stumbled over to him. He stood there stiffly as she crushed him into a hug. Then she leaned back and smacked the back of his head. Dean let out a surprised snort.

_*"Idiota. Non potresti mantenere neanche un segreto per un mese. Idiota."_  She muttered at him before she stumbled back to the bed and flopped down.

_*"לילה טוב"_

She mumbled and promptly fell back asleep. Annabeth huffed at Nico.

"I wish you never taught her Italian. It's annoying." Nico rolled his eyes.

"That last bit wasn't even Italian. She speaks like eight languages. It's not my fault she likes learning how to talk confusingly." Annabeth rolled her eyes as she settled down on the bed next to her sister, clearly not leaving. Dean threw up his hands.

"We're going to need another room aren't we?"

Anna's brother and sister looked at his exasperated face and laughed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *Please! I'm sorry! Please please please! I'm sorry! No! Please, no! Stop! I'm sorry! 
> 
> (Greek)
> 
> *Sister, you're safe. You aren't there anymore. Wake up sister. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Wake up!   
> *hey big sister  
> *You idiot. You couldn't keep even one secret for one month. Idiot.
> 
> (Italian)
> 
> *goodnight 
> 
> (Hebrew)


	103. Chapter 103

_Dean_

The next morning Dean found himself locked out of his own motel room while the four extras they'd picked up last night had a family meeting. Standing outside the door with Sam all they heard was a lot of yelling in the same foreign language Anna had been crying in last night.

"What do you know about them?" Dean asked his brother quietly.

"Yesterday is some important date for Anna, but she refuses to tell any of them what it is. Except Nico, who won't tell anyone without her permission. Usually they keep a close eye on her because she goes off the rails like we saw last night, but since they thought she was dead no one went looking for her. Annabeth apparently decided that it made that day the right time to finally clean out Anna's storage locker, go through her stuff. But it was empty and clean. So she called Nico and forced him to admit she was alive. Then she made a friend of theirs who worked on Anna's bike turn on the tracker. She and her boyfriend Percy,' Dean interrupted.

"Husband. She told me, and I saw the rings." Sam was shocked.

"But they're like 20! Percy told me last night." Dean just shrugged.

"Just keep going."

"Ok, well Annabeth and her husband then hightailed it towards the location of the tracking device. Then somehow they run into Nico, who they're pissed with for not telling them she's actually alive this whole time and then they came here to kill her for pretending she died." Dean nodded at the story.

"Their family is close. And they're all just as well trained as Anna. Or haven't you noticed how that all guard themselves and each other. It's almost subconscious, how perfectly they work around each other. It's weird." Dean told his younger brother.

"Anna is our friend and we can trust her. Her family, we'll take her lead." Sam nodded in agreement. The motel room opened up, a tired looking Anna waving them in. A red hand print was glowing on her cheek. Dean raised an eyebrow at it but otherwise said nothing.

Annabeth and Percy were sitting together on the bed, the boy's arm wrapped around his wife. Nico sat in a chair in the corner of the room, watching them all. Anna took a seat at the tiny table, gesturing at the brothers to do the same. With everyone seated Anna takes a deep breath.

"Ok. Here is what's going to happen." She took a deep breath. And points at her sister and her brother in law.

"Percy and Annabeth are going back to New York. You have other responsibilities and have no business traipsing around the country with me right now. Percy is going to continue living in fear of me as he treats my sister like a queen. You will tell no one but Mr. Brunner and Leo that I am alive. Keep that information as confidential as possible." When her sister opened her mouth to argue she cut her off.

"Owl Brains you know that this is be best plan. The fewer people who know I'm still alive, the longer I stay that way." Annabeth pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Next Anna turned on Nico.

"You,  _idiota_. I'm sorry and I love you. But you are also going home. What I'm doing is too dangerous for you tag along and your father calls you away for his business to often anyways. And I know for a fact that a certain Will Solace would never forgive me for stealing his boyfriend." Nico blushed and glowered at the same time. It was actually quite a feat. Dean was impressed.

"Finally, Winchester boys." She turned to them. She gave them a worn smile. 'Thank you. Really. Last night I was a disaster and you boys helped me when you didn't have too. So thank you." She sighed and then steeled herself. Dean's stomach sank, "You boys are also going to go on without me. I believe the next case should take you to...' She trailed off as she consulted the map she had spread in front of her.

"Well the next lead on demonic activity that I've found is a few miles away. This barn just a bit out of town. I suggest you two look into it." Dean crossed his arms.

"And what are you going to do?" He asked roughly. She smiled sadly.

"First I have to go visit someone. Then I have a few leads of my own to hunt down in my own cases. You still have my number, call if you need anything. The emergency number still stands." Anna stood up. As did her family. None of the three teens looked happy with her plans, and to be honest neither was Dean. But they were made and seemingly resigned to them. She gave them all quick hugs and whispered to them in the strange language from before and escorted them out of the room.

"Be careful Blu." Nico warned. Percy scoffed at her. Anna gave her sister's husband the stink eye.

"Watch it Kelp Head. I was Blu long before you and your obsession set foot in our lives." Percy laughed as the three left. Dean glanced at his brother, confused by the reference. He watched the them climb into a black car and with an odd growling sound, they left. It sounded almost like a dog.

Anna came back inside, leaning against the doorway. Dean watched her move fluidly, a completely different person from the night before.

"Do you really have to go?" Sam asked her quietly. She nodded sadly. His brother sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. She reached out a hand to Dean. He allowed her to pull him into a hug after she released his brother. Her smaller body molded to fit against him perfectly. Anna was a bit in the shorter side, so she fit perfectly under his chin. He tucked her tightly against him for a moment, relishing how close and warm and alive and safe she felt right up against him. Too soon it was time for him to let go. Anna pulled away. Maybe it was his imagination but she seemed just as reluctent to let go as he was

"Sam I need my keys." She said quietly. Dean watched as Sam handed them back to her. They followed her out to the parking lot and she mounted her bike, tugging her helmet and jacket on with no ceremony. She raised the visor. She smirked a little.

"Boys." She warned. Dean felt a bit of deja vu wash over him.

"Hunting is dangerous. Be careful." Sam laughed out loud.

"And what do you know about hunting?" He asked her, parroting the same words they'd said the first night they'd met. Anna laughed out loud.

"Exactly what I'm supposed to know." She gave Dean the stink eye.

"And Dean?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Yeah?" He asked as innocently as possible. Anna laughed, her silvery eyes sparkling.

"Burn the damn phone." She slammed her visor down and the engine tumbled to life. Dean laughed while shaking his head. With one last parting wave, Anna roared out of the parking lot.


	104. Chapter 104

_Anna_

Anna slunk through Camp Jupiter, fiddling with the long chiton she was forced to wear. She would almost rather put on the Roman style toga, at least those don't sweep the floor and everyone wore them. The chiton she wore was specific to women, and it dragged and got in her way constantly. Plus it made her stick out even more as a Greek. Not that it mattered much anymore, but still. She didn't need the attention after the irritation of the Senate meeting. That was a large body of people who now knew she wasn't actually dead. It was irritating when plans don't go the way she planned.

Anna had been forced to return to the Romans when Lycaon had reformed and returned from Tartarus and begun terrorizing the Bay Area. The Hunters of Artemis were on their way, but were also a bit busy with a manticore issue in the backwoods of Louisiana at the moment. The Legion was spread thin dealing with the increase of veil breaches and the resurgence of supernatural vampires. So Anna was brought back from the dead for clean up duty. Meaning she had to go and kill any mortals who were added to the pack, but had yet to make the full transition. A painful and terrible duty. And the angry Praetor gave it to her. Recompense for faking her death.

Anna groaned as she found herself making her way out of the camp on foot. The pack had attacked her on her way into the Roman camp and her bike had been damaged. Meaning she had to leave it in New Rome to be repaired. Leo being on the wrong side of the country, was unavailable, so it would take a few days. She was going to use that time productively killing the so-called king of wolves. Lupa herself had commissioned this quest. Lycaon was an arrogant fool, which was exactly what got him cursed in the first place.

She trudged along the Caldecott Tunnel, making her way into the city. While she had been offered accommodations in the barracks, she was on a quest now. That means leaving the safety of the camp's borders.

The last attack had been in the city, some lawyer. So that's where Anna was headed. As soon as she changed out of the Hades be damned chiton.


	105. Chapter 105

_Anna_

She raced through the dark streets, the pack racing after her. Anna swung the bow off her shoulder, dipping into the quiver of silver arrows. She turns and with a precision that matched the hunters of Artemis, she fires one after the other at Lycaon's minions. The king of mutts had yet to show himself.

' _Coward_.' Anna thinks to herself. She slips the bow back over her shoulder and rededicated herself to sprinting toward the trap she and Thalia had set. The rest of the Hunt was waiting just up ahead. She pushed her body harder as the baying of the wolves grew closer.

Suddenly Anna hears gunshots. Glancing over her shoulder, she spots a familiar silhouette. Dean fucking Winchester, Anna internally groans. At least he had the brains to use silver. The youngest pack member yelps in pain and slows down. Anna waves Dean away.

"Get back!" She hollered at her friend. Dean looks at her startled.

"Anna? What the hell are you doing?" He roared back. Wolves start to peel away, going after new prey. Even if he isn't a demigod, he's friends with one. Anna yanked the bow over her shoulder and aims at the stragglers heading for Dean. She hits two of them, and he shoots the third.

"I have a plan. Just stay back!" She shouts and pelts around the corner. Tuning everything else out she sees the narrow alley they had set the ambush in. She rounds the corner, her feet skidding dangerously and turns around, just behind the safety of the hunter's bows. The first of the werewolves stream in and silver arrows fly from the bows. Anna draws Eleos, which can kill lycanthropes, with four monster killing metals making up its' blade. She slashed forward as the wolves begin to die. The wolves snarl, snapping and biting at the demigod, but the alley did its job, the wolves could only attack a few at a time and the number of fire escapes allowed the hunters to use their archery skills to their advantage. It was over in minutes. But the damned wolf king hadn't showed up.

Thalia leapt down lightly from the fire escape, her sliver lieutenant circlet glinting softly in the dim city lights.

"We'll hunt Lycaon now that we've arrived. You take care of the male mortal hunter scum." She said derisively. Anna sighed.

"Mortal hunters are an insult to the Lady. But that particular one could be an exception. Even if he likes a willing women a little too much." Anna smiled slightly. Thalia slugged her arm gently.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're getting soft." Anna laughed as she started walking out of the alley.

"Soft? Never. Attached? Maybe a little." And she was gone before Thalia could respond.


	106. Chapter 106

_Dean_

Dean was certain he'd seen Anna being chased by a pack of werewolves. But when he'd rounded the corner all he saw was thirty girls, all somewhere between eight to twenty years old, milling around in similarly silver outfits. Anna was walking towards him, completely relaxed. Or as relaxed as the hunter ever seemed to be.

"Anna what's going on?" He called. Dean had already texted Sam that the Alpha was dead. If Madison could be cured, this was it. Sam might have responded but Dean hasn't bothered to check. This was the first time he'd seen Anna in two months. They talked a bit during that time; she'd called him for some advice on a skinwalker infestation about a month back and Sam needed information on the weaknesses of some monsters; but beyond that nothing.

Dean watched her approach, taking in her appearance. She hadn't changed much in the two years he'd known her. Same jeans, same plain long sleeve T-shirt under a leather bike jacket. Her usual leather motorcycle boots, not because she wants to look tough (even if she is) but because it's practical. Her hair is longer now, dark and shiny, in soft natural curls. Her grey eyes, almost silver in the night, are icy and cold. Calculating a thousand and one ways to do something Dean isn't allowed to know about and get away with it. What little skin he can see is scarred, except her face. Which he found a bit odd but shook off. Beautiful. That's all Dean could really describe her as. Her strength translates into her every movement, the grace of a predator flowing through the muscles. It's all beautiful. He doesn't even realize that he was staring until Anna snaps her fingers in front of his face.

"Earth to Dean, earth to Dean. Is Winchester home? Hello?" She waved a hand in front of his face. Dean shook himself, locking away the thoughts in his head about Anna.

"So what's going on?" He asked. Anna gave him a bemused smile.

"You zone out on me, and when I finally get your attention back you ask me what's going on?" She teased as she steered him away from the girls and the alley she'd just left.

"Don't got much else to do. Sam's with this hot chick we were protecting from the wolves and I don't want to walk in on my baby brother." Dean joked even as him stomach churned a little at the unnecessary visuals he suddenly received. Anna laughed again.

"Well I'm in town on some family business, when I noticed a pattern that just about screamed wolf. So here we both are killing the same wolf. How long you two going to be in town for?" She asked curiously. Dean shrugged.

"Maybe another day or two? Make sure it's actually clean. Plus Sam likes this chick so he may want to stick around." Dean shuddered at the internal visuals again. Ugh. Anna smiled at him.

"Well I need to be going. My bike is getting fixed and I am apparently desperately needed in the morning. Maybe I'll see you around? Even if I didn't have to be here for my crazy extended family, I'd stick around, make sure we got all the werewolves." Dean nods. Something told him that no matter how much he trusted Anna, he shouldn't tell her about Madison yet. The cure is a long shot, and Anna isn't the type to bet on a maybe.

"Yeah, us too. Give us a call, maybe the three of us can hook up and go hunting together for a while. Just like old times." Anna gave him a wide smile.

"I'd love to. As soon as my family business wraps up I'll give you boys a call." Anna waves as she jogs away. Dean gets into his car in a good mood. Even if he lost in Rock Paper Scissors to his baby brother, he still got the good end of the stick. After all, he got to see Anna.


	107. Chapter 107

_Anna_

Anna watched the scene below her sadly. The girl knew that she was a wolf, and that she needed to be stopped. It was a shame that she somehow retained her humanity but was unable to stop herself from killing. The brunette was lucky. At least, lucky for the terrible situation she'd been forced into. She hasn't made the full change into one of Lycaon's minions yet, so she is still considered a supernatural, rather than a mythological being. She'll go to the Underworld, and remain there. Anna made a mental note to send Nico a note about her. This kind of selflessness is deserving of Elysian.

Sam raised the gun in a shaky hand. Dean had already offered to do it for him but he'd refused. Anna respected her friend all the more for his choice. It wasn't hard to die for a friend, it was much much worse to be forced to put one down. He squeezed the trigger.

The gun fired.

Madison's body crumpled to the ground. Anna sighed, sheathing her sword.

Lycaon got away, along with a couple of his wolves. But Lady Artemis and the Hunt were after him. They'll kill him again soon enough. Quite a few of the hunters were out for blood considering that the last time any of them saw Lycaon it was while fighting Orion. Anna gritted her teeth thinking about the turncoat giant. The goddess had honored him, above all other men and he'd squandered that gift. He was why many of the huntresses continued to fear men even after they join the Hunt. He'd killed far too many of her friends.

Thalia had recruited well, filling the empty ranks, the holes left behind from both wars. But those empty slots had been veterans, huntresses from ancient times, powerful women who had witnessed history. Now it was filled with girls. Anna shook her head as she retreated back towards camp.

She was close. She had enough context now, that what few clues Terminus was able to pass onto her made more sense. Especially because these demons seem to be of the Christian belief system variety. Rome still stood when Christianity caught on. The Legion was a good place for research now that the cat was unofficially out of the bag. She sighed remembering the uproar when she walked back across the borders. Terminus was  _still_  angry with her, and he  _knew_  that the plan had been handed down from the Olympian Council.

Reyna, and Dakota and a few of her other friends in the Roman camp were also incredibly upset with her. She rubbed the bruises she'd earned from the less friendly pranks they'd played on her as 'punishment.' The Romans took punishments seriously. She was just glad she hadn't been sewn into a bag full of angry weasels then thrown into the Little Tiber. But the pranks were getting less funny. Apparently the Stoll brothers gave them some ideas. Which meant a few of the greeks also knew.

She checked her watch. Anna still had a half hour before the threatened search parties went out after her. But she was about forty five minutes away from camp entrance. She started running.


	108. Chapter 108

_Dean_

Dean raced around the warehouse, dodging another attack from the djinn. The creature's pale hand lands on his shoulder.

 

And then everything goes black.


	109. Chapter 109

_Dean_

A noise startled Dean awake. He sat straight up, breathing hard, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He tensed when he didn't recognize his surroundings. Dean glanced around the room.

It looked like he was in a bedroom and not in a motel. The bed was too nice, there was only one of them, and he wasn't wearing a stitch.

A soft sound next to him made him turn, and his heart stopped completely. Anna was next to him, dark hair clouding around her face, yawning. Like him, she didn't appear to be wearing anything either. All he saw was a smooth expanse of soft tanned skin, and a white sheet rumpled around her hips, a tease for what might be underneath.

"Dean, what's wrong?" She murmured sleepily. Dean was in shock. He just stared at her, watching her stretch under the blanket. She sighed again, not opening her eyes, and patted the space beside her.

"Come back here, baby, come back to sleep."

_'Oh, no, what the hell?'_  Dean got up slowly, careful to avoid disturbing Anna, and found a pair of sweats. He walked through the apartment, what was apparently  _Anna's_  apartment, and tried to absorb the details. There was, what he assumed, tasteful art hung on the wall.

But what he found most surprising were all the photos that lined the space. Dozens of them; pictures of Sam and Anna, Anna and John, John and Nico, Nico and Dean, Dean and Sam, Dean and John. There were group pictures, and individual shots and odd candids that looked natural and fun and  _normal_. He paused at a picture of him and Anna. It looked like they were on a beach somewhere, kissing while he took the picture.

"What the hell?" He asked softly. He found his cell phone, flipped it open, and called Sam.

"Dean?" he answered.

"Sam?"

"What is going on?" Sam sounded wary.

"I don't know. I don't know where I am."

"What? What happened?"

"Well, the uh, the djinn. It attacked me."

"The gin? You're... Drinking gin?"

"No, asshat. The djinn. The... Scary creature. Remember? It put it's hand on me and then I woke up... Next to..."

"Who?" Sam chuckled.

"Anna, hopefully?" Dean frowned.

"What?"

"Dean, you're drunk. You're drunk-dialing me."

"I am not drunk. Quit screwing around!" Dean growled.

"Look, it's late. All right, just get some sleep and, um, I'll... see you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Wait, Sam! Sam!" Sam hung up on him. Dean sighed, considered calling him back, and put the phone back in his pocket instead. He looked around, trying to figure what the hell was going on. There was a little table next to the front door. It had a bowl with some keys in it (he was bemused to see that some of them were his) and a few envelopes tossed carelessly on top. He picked up the top one to read the address.

_Anna Colt 53 Barker Ave. Apt. 38, Lawrence, KS 66044_

"Lawrence?" He whispered to himself. He looked at the next envelope.

_Dean Winchester 53 Barker Ave. Apt. 38, Lawrence, KS 66044_

"What the hell?" The second exclamation came out a little louder than he meant.

"Honey? What are you doing?" Anna asked from the doorway. Dean jumped a little before he turned to see her wrapping a long, silky robe around herself, dark hair messy and tangled around her face.

"Hey, uh, Anna, uh..." She tilted her head.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah, uh, huh." Dean tried a smile, but it felt awkward on his face. Her sliver eyes warmed, the ice he usually saw within them melting into something else, something so hot it would burn him if he wasn't careful. Something low in him tightened in response.

"Well," She said softly, a smile teasing at the edges of her mouth.

"Why don't you come back to bed, and we'll see if I can do anything to help." Dean swallowed hard and nodded.

"Sure. Yeah. In a minute. You... You, you go ahead." Her slow smile was making him dizzy.

"Okay. Don't stay up too long." She walked to where he was and leaned up on her toes to kiss him softly. Dean's head spun as she kept her lips pressed against his, her hand on his bare chest. He hadn't quite realized how much shorter than him that she was until that moment, her presence usually filling the space. He growled lightly against her lips as her fingernails lightly scratched down his waist. He could feel her smiling even before she pulled back and grinned at him. She cocked her head sideways, her expression open and cheeky.

"Seriously, come back to bed soon." She turned and walked back to the bedroom, her hips swaying in her familiar prowl.

" _Jesus_." Dean muttered as he tried to catch his breath. He turned, hoping to distract himself from the spiral his mind took him in.

The wall he faced had more framed photos. There were more pictures of Anna with an older man who kinda looked like her, maybe her dad? There were pictures of her and Nico, her and Annabeth and a few other curly haired, grey eyed kids. Dean was even in a few of them. To his utter bewilderment, their was even a photo of the two of them in formalwear, himself in a dress shirt and slacks and her in a smoking hot black dress. They were looking in the same direction, smiling at something, and the casual way he had his arm slung around her body made Dean's chest ache for something he wasn't supposed to have.

He glanced down at another picture, and all thought and emotion having to do with Anna stopped. He went into the bedroom and found a shirt, ignoring her startled, "Dean? Dean, honey-"

He grabbed his keys and ran for the door.


	110. Chapter 110

_Dean_

Dean was speeding the whole way. He knew he was being reckless, but he had to see her. When he got to his old house, he parked across the street. His stomach was doing flips. He ran to the front door and started banging on it. He rang the doorbell once, twice, three times. The light above the door turned on, then the door opened.

Mary Winchester squinted up at her son.

"Dean?" He felt tears start to well up in his eyes. She was  _here_ , and she was beautiful.

"Mom?" She looked concerned. It killed him.

"What are you doing here? Are you all right?" He was honest. She deserved nothing less.

"I don't know." She sighed, smiling up at him. The opened a little further as his mom stepped to the side.

"Well... Come inside."


	111. Chapter 111

_Dean_

The next day, after mowing his  _mom's_  lawn, Dean was sitting on the front step with a beer. He was thinking about calling Anna. There were pictures of them in the house, most of them pretty recent; and in every single one they were smiling, happy. Normal.

A dark sedan pulled up. Sam and Jessica stepped out. Dean grinned and walked down to meet them.

"I don't believe it." As Jess got out of the car, he scooped her up into a hug.

"Hmm..." She hummed.

"Jessica." Dean was reeling. Somehow, someway, everything that had gone wrong for them, was made right.

"Agh! You're, uh... Good to see you, too, Dean. Okay, can't breathe, okay." He laughed and let her go, then turned to Sam.

"Sammy." Sam gave him a tight smile.

"Hey." Dean couldn't stop grinning.

"Look at you. You're with Jessica, it's... I don't believe it." Another tight smile, and a quizzical look.

"Yeah."

"Where'd you guys come from?" Sam was outright staring at him now.

"We just flew in from Califor..." Dean snapped his fingers.

"California! Stanford, huh? Law school, I bet." Sam sighed and motioned to the beer in Dean's hand.

"I see you started off Mom's birthday with a bang, as usual." Dean blinked.

"Wait. Mom's birthday, that's, that's today?" Sam rolled his eyes and shared a look with Jess.

"Yeah. Yeah, Dean. That's today. That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot." Dean was so excited he didn't notice the irritation in his brother's voice. Everything was finally looking up.


	112. Chapter 112

_Dean_

Dean parked in front of the apartment and hopped out of Baby. Curious, he went and unlocked her trunk, opening it to find a tire iron, some trash, and a shopping bag that he had apparently forgotten about. He didn't think he could have smiled anymore today.

"Would you look at that, Baby. We're civilians."

When he looked up, there was a girl standing across the street. She was wearing a white shirt and a skirt. She didn't say anything or move, just looked at him. He started to walk toward her, wanting to know if she was okay. Suddenly, a car horn blared out, and he jumped back as an SUV almost hit him. When he looked for the girl again, she was gone. Shaking his head, he walked up to the the apartment he shared with Anna. He fumbled with the keys for a moment, then unlocked the door.

"Anna?" he called, looking around. She came padding into the living room in bare feet. She was holding her hair up with her hand, and had a silver dress half on, the shimmering fabric loose where it was half unzipped. She smiled warmly.

"Hey, handsome." She murmured, silver grey eyes flashing as she rose up on her toes to kiss him gently. When she dropped back down, concern had filled her eyes.

"Are you okay? Your mom called. Is she all right?" Dean was still trying to deal with what she was wearing, or rather, what she was only  _half_  wearing.

"Um, yeah, yeah, just... Needed to go home, I guess." She smiled in relief.

"I get that. Hey!" Anna turned around. "Since you're here now, can you zip me up?" Dean was floored again. Her tanned,  _unscarred_  back was blocked only by the shape of the dress she was in. Realizing that he could, he stepped forward and ran a hand down her back, leaning down to leave burning kisses on her neck, trailing down slowly. She moaned and leaned back, tilting her head to give him better access. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her tight to him, every repressed fantasy suddenly playing in his mind. She pulled away gently and laughed.

"Dean! We don't have time, we might be late as is!" She looked over her shoulder flirtatiously.

"Now zip me up and go get dressed, and maybe there's something in it for you later." He groaned and caught her mouth again, running his tongue along her bottom lip, then lifted his head and grinned at her. His green eyes met her grey, and for once, he could read exactly what was running through her head. He smiled, planting one last kiss on her soft mouth.

"Anything for you sweetheart. Anything at all."


	113. Chapter 113

_Dean_

They were all sitting at a round table in the ritzy restaurant Sam had made reservations at. Dean stared at his plate, confused by how little of the fancy food was on the plate.

"Wow, that... Looks awesome." He said tentatively, poking at it gently with his fork. Anna nudged his thigh under the table, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted the warning in her eyes, even though her lips twitched with laughter. He set the fork down quickly. 

"All right." Sam lifted his glass.

"To Mom! Happy birthday!" Everyone raised their glasses in a toast. Mary blushed and smiled.

"Thank you." She said, looking around at their family. Sam leaned over and kissed Jessica. Dean smiled. Anna gently squeezed his thigh and leaned close.

"What do you say, after this we go home and have some real food?"

"Oh, God, yes." He answered fervently. She chuckled.

"Anna, how did I end up with someone as cool as you?" He muttered to her, even as he traced small patterns on her knee under the tablecloth. She grinned.

"You got me when I was rebounding and you were convenient. And hot." He laughed and kissed her. Sam interrupted.

"All right. Jess and I actually have another surprise for Mom's birthday. Ah... You wanna tell them?" Jess blushed.

"They're your family." Sam smiled at her sweetly.

"All right." Mary looked between the two of them.

"What? Tell me what?" Sam held up Jessica's left hand to display the rather large-ish engagement ring on her finger. Mary laughed, and Anna squealed. Dean had never seen such a wide range of emotion on her face before, and he was fascinated. While it was a little strange to see the reticent woman he knew be so vibrant, he kinda liked it. She didn't need to be guarded, she had nothing to be afraid of, nothing to hide anymore. It was nice to know she felt so secure. That Anna was safe.

"Oh my God! That's so wonderful!" Mary beamed, getting up to hug Sam. Anna also stood to hug Jessica.

"Congratulations, Jess!"

"Thank you," Jessica said demurely, but her eyes were sparkling. Dean watched his mother and his girlfriend switch places, Anna beaming up at Sam.

"Congratulations, Short Stuff," she said softly. He smiled tightly.

"Thanks, Anna." They hugged stiffly. Mary was still beaming.

"I just wish your dad was here." His mom said quietly. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. Me, too." Mary turned, her face visibly brightening as she reached for the younger woman's hand.

"Jessica, let me see that ring." Dean stood and shook Sam's hand.

"Congratulations, Sammy." Sam let go of Dean's hand,

"Thanks." Dean kept his gaze.

"I'm really glad you're happy." Sam gave Dean a puzzled look, then turned back to the women  _oohing_  over Jess's ring. Dean looked over Sam's shoulder, his smile fading as he saw the girl from earlier, in the white shirt. She was dirty now. Dean pushed past Sam and walked toward her. By the time he got there, a waiter moved past him, and when the waiter was gone, so was the girl.

Dean turned to see his family looking at him, every face with a different expression of fear and concern.


	114. Chapter 114

_Dean_

Later that night, Dean was sitting on the sofa in his living room, (he has a living room!) thinking about what Sam had said when they had dropped their Mom off. Anna walked in, wearing only his shirt and a pair of panties, and handed him a beer.

"My favorite." He watched as she settled next to him, her back against the arm of the sofa and her legs stretching across his lap. She was so comfortable with him, and he watched as she did all the little rituals he'd noticed before, but this time, they included him. She tucked her hair back, always parted to the left, by running her fingers through the top layer of hair, and hugged a pillow over her belly, but not a square pillow, only a round one, and propped her legs up; only instead of on a chair or over the arm of the couch, they were propped over his lap. She nudged him over so she could lean into him and the spot just between the cushions at the same time, and every movement she made was both so familiar, but also completely alien.

"I guess you know me pretty well." Anna laughed at him, and nodded almost sadly. Her acting wasn't as good as it used to be. Or maybe she was faking as a joke. Dean decided it must be a joke, even if it was different than her usual dry humor.

"I'm afraid so." She searched his face.

"Are you all right?" He frowned.

"Sammy and I... We don't get along." She shrugged.

"I just think he hasn't let go of the shit you pulled the last couple years. It got rough there for a while."

"You two don't get along anymore either." Another shrug.

"I don't think he's really forgiven me for forgiving you. He doesn't understand."

"Hmm." She leaned forward and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"For the record, he doesn't know what he's missing, keeping you out of his life."

"I can fix things with Sam. I can make it up to him. To everyone." He looked at her. "To you." She leaned back and fixed him with a piercing stare. This, on the other hand, was completely familiar, Anna frequently giving him the same look to extract information from him.

"All right, spill it Winchester. What's gotten into you lately?" He leaned toward her.

"This isn't gonna make a lick of sense to you. But I kind of feel like I've been given a second chance. And I don't wanna waste it." She laughed, and Dean was entranced. Anna really was beautiful. He carefully took in her appearance, a soft smooth body unmarked by monsters or the things that go bump. Whole. Even if she was a bit different, it's better this way. She's safer.  _Happier_.

"You're right, that doesn't make any sense..." He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. They kissed for a heated moment, then he pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers, just enjoying the moment. Anna before may have been a stranger, a friendly, good, trustworthy stranger, but still even after almost two years, she was still a stranger. Here, on the other hand, she was something else. She was _h_ _is_. And he could tell that he was every bit hers as she was his.

Dean found that he liked that idea the more he thought about it. She gave him a slow smile that set his blood on fire.

"Whatever's gotten into you, I like it." Their lips met again, and Dean put down his beer to put his hands on her, desperate to feel any part of her. She groaned and pulled away, dropping her head back. He took the opportunity to press his lips to her neck.

"Oh, don't do this to me now. I've got to pack tonight." She pushed him away gently and stood, walking back to their bedroom.

"You've got to pack now?" he asked, following her. She looked back at him before she entered the bedroom.

"I told you, I'm back on duty this month." He followed her into the bedroom.

"You work for the, uh..." He saw her pull out several marine dress uniforms from the closet. Just like his old man had been once upon a time.

"Military. You're a marine. I'm dating a marine.Dad would've loved this. That's so... Patriotic." She chuckled and started to pack. Dean watched her, feeling possessiveness take hold in his heart.

_'Mine.'_  He thought taking a sip of beer.

Life was finally good.


	115. Chapter 115

_Dean_

He kissed Anna thoroughly before watching her climb into the taxi, Dean sat on the couch and put his feet on the table. He picked up the TV remote and turned it on. A cooking show flicked on first.

"The olive oil must have a purpose here."

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"I'll take the olive oil and we'll just put a, just a touch of olive oil, okay? That's all."

"Oh."

"Can't make any mistakes with this machine. Now, for liquid, I could use water but I'm gonna use a little spinach..." The sounds from the TV were quiet as Dean flipped through channels. Stock market, cartoons, some sort of crummy home video. Then the news, with a pretty reporter speaking.

"And today marks the anniversary of the crash of United Britannia Flight 424." Dean sat up, feeling his stomach drop.

"Indianapolis residents held a candlelight vigil in memory of the hundred and eight people who lost their lives..."

"No, no." He snapped, eyes not leaving the screen.

" _I_  stopped that crash." Dean stood up and walked to the desk that held a laptop in the corner. He flipped it open and started looking up headlines.

INDIANAPOLIS SUN, DECEMBER 5TH, 2005

FLIGHT 424 CRASHES, 108 DEAD

NINE CHILDREN COMATOSE

PARENTS MUTILATED IN BED

GIRL DROWNS IN HOTEL POOL

Dean felt nauseous. He had saved all those people. He had lied, scammed, bled, fought and  _sacrificed_  to protect all those people. The family party line, Saving people, hunting things, had put him, his brother and his dad on the road to _stop_ all those deaths. Sometimes it was just him and Sammy, and more recently Anna had been hunting with them too. But no matter who had come and gone and fought and bled, they'd  _saved_ all those people. 

He didn't understand. He went to lean his head back in frustration and caught a glimpse of a passing figure walking down the hallway. Wishing he had his gun, he stood up to follow. He walked into the bedroom and saw nothing. He opened the closet door, and jumped back when he saw several women, dead, hanging in the closet. A sound behind him had him whipping around to see yet another woman, with a head wound, flicking in and out in front of him. His chest heaving, Dean turned back around to the closet...

The empty closet.


	116. Chapter 116

_Dean_

Dean stood in front of his father's grave. He had come for... something... He wasn't sure what. Dean slouched, hunching his shoulders deeper into his worn leather coat as he contemplated his father's gravestone.

JOHN E. WINCHESTER  
1954-2006  
LOVING HUSBAND & FATHER  
REMEMBERED FOREVER

"All of them." He started, voice rough, frustrated.

"Everyone that you saved, everyone Sammy and I saved. They're all dead. And there's this woman, that's haunting me. I don't know why. I don't know what the connection is, not yet anyway. It's like my old life is, is coming after me or something. Like it, like it doesn't want me to be happy. 'Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball, but... 'So go hunt the djinn. It put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right?'" Dean paused, trying to collect himself. He felt this surge of rage welling up inside, everything he'd ever locked away inside himself, every feeling he never acknowledged came spilling out of him all at once.

"But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of  _hero_?" He felt a tear slide down his cheek. So much for no chick flick moments. He was a walking talking daytime soap right now.

"What about us, huh? What, Mom's not supposed to live her life, Sammy's not supposed to get married? I'm not..." He wasn't sure he could say it. "I'm not supposed to..." He couldn't admit it out loud, not even to his dad's grave. "What about Anna? Why do we have to sacrifice everything, Dad?" He stopped again, not sure what good this was doing.

"It's..." Thunder rumbled in the distance. Anna always treated thunder as an omen, no matter how stupid a supersition it was. But in that moment, Dean got it.

"Yeah..." He turned and made his way back to Baby, sure of what he had to do.

Even if he hated it.


	117. Chapter 117

_Dean_

Dean was rifling through his mother's china cabinet, feeling guilty. Dean finally gets his mom back, and the first thing he does it take her good silver. The hair on the back of his neck prickled. He only had a second's warning to turn around and disarm Sam. Sam's lack of training for the situation caught Dean off guard. Dean chuckled, trying to deflect.

"That was so easy, I'm embarrassed for you." Sam wasn't deterred, his expression stony.

"Dean? What the hell are you doing here?" Dean got up, and watched warily as Sam got up, too.

"I was looking for a beer." He lied easily. Sam looked at him incredulously

"In the china cabinet?" Sam turned on the light, and Dean shut his eyes and leaned his head back, knowing that Sam was seeing the cabinet open, and the box on the floor with the lid off. Sam never was an idiot, not even in a fucked up reality.

"That's Mom's silver." Dean sighed.

"Sam."

"What, you... You broke into the house... To steal Mom's silver?" Dean opened his eyes and looked at his younger brother.

"It's not what it looks like, okay? I didn't have a choice." Sam, starting to get angry, scoffed.

"Oh, really? Why? What's so damn important you gotta steal from your own mother?" Dean cocked an eyebrow, thinking quickly.

"You want the truth?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Dean shrugged. Then he lied.

"I owe somebody money." Sam was shocked.

"Who?"

"A bookie. I lost big on a game, I gotta bring him the cash tonight."

"I can't believe we're even related." Sam ran a hand through his hair. It stung that this version of Sam and him had drifted so far apart that Sam didn't see through his bullshit right away. Even after Sammy had been gone for Stanford, his kid brother knew him better than this.

"How could you do this to Mom? Hell, how could you do this to  _Anna_? If you knew the things she said to me when we talked about you..." Dean couldn't take it. No matter how much of a dick he may be, Dean was always,  _always_ , a family guy.

"Sam, I'm sorry." Sam huffed.

"Yeah." Dean leaned down and pulled a knife from the box.

"I'm sorry that we don't get along. I'm sorry that it somehow came between you and Anna. And I wish to hell I could stay and fix it. But I gotta do this. People's lives depend on it." Sam's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about, Dean?"

"Nothing. Forget it. Just uh... Hey, tell Mom I love her. And..." He swallowed.

"And Anna, tell Anna I love her, too." Sam wasn't an idiot. He never was. Dean could tell he knew something was wrong, because even in a fucked up reality he could read his kid brother like an open book.

"Dean." Dean turned around.

"I'll see you, Sammy." He walked out the door and shut it behind him. He walked across the street to the Impala, got in, and shut the door. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, thinking. He turned the key and listened to Baby's engine start. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and Sam got in. Dean frowned.

"Get out of the car."

"I'm going with you." Sam looked resolute. Dean shook his head.

"You're just gonna slow me down."

"Tough."

"This is dangerous and you could get hurt."

"Yeah, and so could you, Dean." Dean sighed.

"Sam..." Sam glared at him.

"Look, whatever stupid thing you're about to do, you're not doing it alone. And that's that."

"I don't understand. Why you doing this?"

"Because you're still my brother." Dean grinned.

"Bitch." Sam was horrified.

"What are you calling me a bitch for?"

"You're supposed to say jerk."

"What?" Dean shook his head.

"Never mind." He put the Impala in gear, and they drove away.


	118. Chapter 118

_Dean_

They drove toward the abandoned building. Dean was tense, he didn't want to do this. He wanted to drop Sam off, go home, and wait for Anna to come home from the base. He wanted to surprise her with breakfast and, and champagne and flowers or whatever it is girls like; and then taste and touch every inch of her newly unscarred skin that he'd never been allowed near before. He wanted to map her powerful body, and the women inside it, in his mind, and with his hands. He wanted to make up for every shitty thing he'd ever done to her, once he found out  _what_  they were.

He wanted to work in a garage. He wanted to help people by fixing their cars, doing good by repairing instead of killing. He wanted to come home to Anna every night, and one or two nights a week go visit his mom. His living, breathing mom, who loved him and loved the amazing girlfriend he somehow had. And Sam and Jess would visit, and they'd all go out to dinner. And he would propose to Anna, make her Mrs. Winchester or Mrs. Colt or whatever the hell her name actually was. He doesn't even care that he barely knows her. Everything important Dean already knew.

And maybe one day... Dean closed his eyes to keep the thoughts from piling on further. That future was something he didn't get to have. It doesn't belong to him. Nothing more than a pipe dream. He shined the flashlight at Sam, who was sleeping. Sam startled awake, eyes wild and confused.

"Where are we?" Dean gave a forced chuckle. It irritated him that this Sam was such a newbie, instead of the one he could trust to watch his back.

"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore." Sam didn't smile and Dean rolled his eyes. What a waste of a perfectly good quip.

"Illinois." Sam looked warily at the warehouse.

"And you think something's in there?" Dean looked at the building, too.

"I know it is." They crept into the building, Dean holding the flashlight with Sam walking nervously behind him.

"See? There's nothing here, Dean." His brother's voice held a distinct whine to it. Dean ignored him and turned down the hallway where he had been attacked the first time, Sam sticking close.

"Look, Anna is going to be worried sick about you. Come on, let's... Let's just go." A noise echoed through the room. Dean elbowed Sam in the gut.

" _Sh!_ " He hissed sharply. Sam had heard the sound too, his brother freezing. At least he had  _some_  sense.

"What the hell was that?" He whispered furiously, instead of being quiet like Dean told him too.

"Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut." Dean looked into the room they were walking into, to see bodies hanging. The ones from his hallucination in the closet.

"Shit." There was a drained blood bag hanging next to one of the bodies. Sam was horrified.

"What the hell?" Sam breathed. Dean looked around and saw the woman he had been seeing. There was a blood bag hanging next to her, too. This one was full.

"It's her." He said, shocked. Sam examined the woman carefully. She began to whimper, her eyes flicking open.

"Dean, what's going on?" He asked softly. Dean grabbed him and dragged him behind a shelving unit.

"Come on!" The brothers watched as the djinn came into the room. It walked up and stood in front of the woman. She started to cry weakly.

"Where's my dad? I won't tell... No, don't." The djinn touched her face.

"Sleep." He ordered. Blue light glowed where it had touched the woman's face.

"Sleep... Sleep." Her head fell forward and she relaxed. The djinn leaned against her, touching her right arm, breathing heavily. He reached for the blood bag, and started drinking deeply. Sam gagged. Dean could have killed him as he pushed him silently away.

The djinn had heard the slight noise, but when he came to look where the men had been, they were gone. The djinn turned around warily. He walked back up the stairs that Dean and Sam were hiding under. Neither took so much as a breath until they heard a door shut further away. Sam let out a huge breath, beginning to panic.

"This is real? You're not crazy?" Dean was ignoring him.

"She didn't know where she was. She thought she was with her father." He approached the woman, hearing Sam come up behind him.

"What if that's what the djinn does? It doesn't grant your wish, it just makes you think it has." He mused absently, reaching out to touch the cold woman's face.

"Look, man. That thing could come back, all right?" Sam said nervously. Dean suddenly saw himself, pale, strung up by his wrists like the woman was, a blood bag hanging next to him. He started to hyperventilate.

"Dean, please."Sam begged him quietly, glancing around the warehouse furtively.

"What if I'm like her?" Dean gasped.

"What if I'm tied up in here some place? What if all this is in my head? I mean it could, you know, maybe it gives us some kind of supernatural  _acid_ , and then just feeds on us slow." Sam was shaking his head.

"No. Dean, that doesn't make sense. OK?" Dean was staring at the woman, horrified, mind racing.

"What if that's why she keeps appearing to me? She's not a spirit. It's, it's like more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere, and I'm, I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I, but I can't snap out of it." Sam was trying to placate him.

"Yeah, OK, look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. I was wrong. You're not crazy but we, we, we need to get out of here. Fast." He grabbed Dean's arm and began to pull him toward the exit. Dean yanked his arm away and backed away from Sam. Sam turned around and held his arms out to the side.

"What?" Dean was starting to get mad, the terror and anger and stress crashing through his system, releasing adrenaline.

"I don't think you're real." Sam grabbed Dean by the arm again.

"Dude, you feel that? You feel this? I'm real. This is not an acid trip. I'm real, and that thing is gonna come down here and kill us for real. Now, please..." Dean pulled out the silver knife. He knew what he had to do, and he ignored the screaming pain in his chest.

"There's one way to be sure." Sam let go of him and backed up.

"Woah, woah, woah. What are you doing?" Dean was trying to gather his courage.

"It's an old wives' tale. If you're about to die in a dream, you wake up." Sam paled.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's crazy. All right?"

"Maybe." Sam started approaching Dean slowly.

"You're gonna kill yourself?!"

"Or I'm gonna wake up. One or the other." Sam held his hands up.

"Okay, this isn't a dream, all right. I'm here, with you, now. And you're about to kill yourself, Dean." Dean shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure. Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough." He turned the knife in his hands, ready to thrust it into his belly.

"Wait!" Sam bellowed. Dean turned and saw his mother walking toward him, in the nightgown she'd been wearing when he first saw her. Anna was behind her in a crisp military uniform. Sam looked sad.

"Why'd you have to keep digging? Why couldn't you have left well enough alone?" Dean turned to see Jessica join them.

"You were happy." His mother stood in front of him, reaching out to cup his cheek.

"Put the knife down, honey." Dean felt tears start to gather in his eyes.

"You're not real. None of it is."

"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had."

"What?"

"It's everything you want. We're a family again. Let's go home." Dean shook his head.

"I'll die." His voice broke. "The djinn will... Drain the life out of me in a couple of days." Mary shook her head.

"But in here, with us, it'll feel like years. Like a lifetime." Dean looked at Sam, who nodded encouragingly.

"I promise," Mary said as she took his chin in her hand, forcing him to look down at her.

"No more pain. Or fear. Just love and comfort. And safety. Dean, stay with us." She was stroking his cheek and he leaned into her hand. Her warm, living hand.

"Get some rest." His mom said quietly.

"You don't have to worry about Sam anymore." Dean looked over to Jess.

"You get to watch him live a full life." Mary stepped away, and Anna walked up to him. She took his face into her hands, pressing her lips against his. He couldn't help himself, he kissed her back until she pulled away.

"We can have a future together." Her beautiful grey eyes were begging him. Her expressive, unguarded eyes. Eyes that were all his and all wrong here; if he stayed.

"We could have our own family. I love you, Dean. Please." Sam walked up behind her.

"Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough? I'm begging you. Give me the knife." Dean looked at his mother, Sam, and Jess, saving Anna for last. He memorized her tension free face, eyes wandering over her unscarred hands and released the knife with one hand. He reeled her in for another deep kiss. The real Anna would never have been so sweet. Or sappy. And a big part of Dean knew he liked the hardened version of his friend better. But a small piece of him screamed that this was good enough. This fake could be good enough, he could learn to like this fake version of her. Dean locked it away. Instead he promised himself that the  _real_  Anna would one day look as carefree as this one, no shadows to study, no more monsters to constantly be on guard for. She would keep her hard bits, but not need them anymore. Then maybe he could earn a little section of this fantasy for real.

He then looked up at his family with tears in his eyes. He released Anna and backed away, making eye contact with Sam. He whispered one last thing to his complete family.

"I'm sorry." Then he drove the knife into his belly. Anna and Sam rushed to him, calling his name.


	119. Chapter 119

_Dean_

"Dean! Dean!"

Dean opened his eyes to a panicking Sam. He realized that he was hanging from his wrists, a blood bag hanging next to him. Anna stood next to him fury and fear stark on her every feature. For once she wasn't hiding behind a mask, broadcasting her emotions to the world. Sam was muttering as he tapped the side of Dean's face.

"Wake up, come on, wake up damnit!"

"Gods, how could you have been so stupid." Anna muttered angrily even as she was motioning at Sam to pull the tube out of Dean's throat.

"Come on, Dean, wake up, come on, wake up! You're better than this you  _Ιδιωτικός γιος ενός σκύλου!_ " She finished in another language as she gently lifted his body so that his wrists would be less strained by the ropes. She was strong. He put it down to adrenaline.

Dean managed to make his gaze focus on Anna. She frowned sternly at him.

"Don't you  _dare_  scare us like that again." She ordered, even as she cleared her expression of all fear, leaving only mild concern behind.

"Ah, Auntie Em. There's no place like home." He managed to croak out. Sam chuckled, relieved.

"Thank God. I thought we lost you for a second." He pulled the tube out of Dean's neck. Speaking was taking up a lot of energy.

"You almost did."

"Do you have any idea what I did, to get here in time to help rescue you? The favors I pulled? The debts I've agreed too? The Stolls might make me help them steal Clarisse's landmines again! " Anna continued to scold even as she let him down. Dean could see the fear swimming in her silver eyes though. He knew she was worried. Sam reached up to start cutting through the rope. Dean turned to see two bright blue eyes next to him.

"Sam!" He tried to warn. Anna didn't flinch when the djinn knocked the knife out of Sam's hands. She growled something in that foreign language as she smoothly unsheathed her sword. She gracefully lunged at the djinn, quickly loping his head off. The four metals in the blade glinted as Anna sliced through the ropes. Dean would have crumpled to the floor if Sam didn't catch him in time. While Sam fussed over Dean, Anna checked the girl's pulse.

"She's still alive!" Anna carefully pulled the tube out of her neck and drew her sword again. Being short, the length of the blade helped her cut through the ropes quickly. The girl fell onto Anna, her arms wrapped around the standing woman's neck.

"I gotcha, I gotcha. You're going to be ok honey." Anna murmured soothingly as she sheathed the blade with a practiced motion.

"Land mines?" Sam asked, confused. Anna ignored him.

"I've got you, you're safe now." Anna kept reassuring the girl. She made the familiar three claws gesture as she smoothed the girl's hair away from her face. Dean watched her move, the grace and power that screamed predator. It had been missing in the other place. God, how didn't he notice sooner? She was all wrong back there. How could he have ever imagined that he could have settled for less? For that Not-Anna? Dean shook his head, trying the clear the last of the images he'd had of kissing Anna away. She wasn't his, not in either universe. Anna should only have ever belonged to Anna. But he still remembered his promise to her.

The djinn did show him one thing. That apple pie life he'd once teased Sam over; looked pretty damn good. And he was going to give it back to Anna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *idiotic son of a bitch
> 
> (Greek)


	120. Chapter 120

_Anna_

Anna leaned against the wall of the motel room as Dean paged through a magazine and quietly recounted his wish world. He was acting strangely, and Anna knew something was wrong. And it probably had something to do with her. She sure she wasn't making it up in some insane fantasy, hoping Dean might actually...

Anna shook her head sharply, clearing away the stray thought. She knew something happened because Dean was alternating between staring at her and avoiding her gaze entirely. He refused eye contact and seemed to be struggling with talking to her at all. Anna isn't an idiot. She'd spent her entire life learning how to read people, it's what kept her alive all these years. She could spot a monster nearly as fast as a satyr could sniff them out. Human lies were nothing compared to her skills.

And everything in Anna said Dean was lying to her about something. Something important.

Sam was on the phone with the hospital, a small frown on his face.

"Ok, uh huh. Thank you for the update. Ok. Bye." He hung up and looked over at the two of them.

"And the verdict is?" Anna asked, Sam gave her a small smile.

"The girl's been stabilized. Good chance she's gonna pull through." Dean and Anna both nod in approval.

"That's good." Dean said.

"Yeah.' Sam nods back. He clears his throat awkwardly. "How 'bout you? You alright?" Sam asked his brother. Anna watched Dean's reaction closely. Dean cleared his throat, stealing a guilty glance at her before studiously examining the wall. Anna's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Yeah, I'm alright. You should have seen it Sam. Our lives. You were such a wussy." Dean deflected. Sam laughed while he shook his head.

"I thought it was supposed to be a perfect fantasy or something." Dean's face darkened and Anna jumped in before Dean could say something terrible.

"It wouldn't be. It's a twisted wish. Djinn wishes are one of the main origins of the idiom  _'be careful what you wish for_.'" She nodded at Dean to continue

"I wished... For Mom to live. That Mom never died, we never went hunting and you and me, Sammy, we just never uh... You know." Sam sighed and looked at his brother. Her heart twisted a little. She may hate being a demigod, but it was part of her identity, who she was. Take that away and what would she become? Anna wasn't sure she wanted to know. Even if she wanted to retire, she wouldn't wish her life on anyone else, it was her cross to bear.

The two brother's exchanged a long glance, seeming to share something important and Anna suddenly felt like she was intruding. This wasn't her family, she wasn't even really a hunter, not like these two anyways. Anna started to back away when Dean caught her eyes. He shook his head slightly, and Anna froze, staying in the room. Sam answered his brother quietly.

"Yeah. Well, I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean. Most people wouldn't've had the strength, would have just stayed." Dean scoffed.

"Yeah... Lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. Mom was gonna have grandkids, I had... Uh, well, it doesn't matter. It was nice." Anna finally spoke up.

"Yeah, but... Dean... It wasn't real." Something in Dean's eyes changed. He looked... hurt. Like he was grieving something he'd lost. Like she had hurt him somehow. Strange. She filed away his odd reaction for later analysis.

"I know. But I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay so bad. I mean, ever since Dad... all I, all I can think about is how much this job's cost us." There was a pause.

"We've lost so much. We've... sacrificed, so much." Anna walked over to sit next to Dean, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. Anna studiously ignored the way he first flinched, then leaned into her touch. Sam just watched the exchange.

"But people are alive because of you." Dean scoffed at her, pulling away from her stiffly. Anna frowned slightly and gave him a light shove.

"It's worth it, Dean. It is. It's not fair, and it hurts like hell, but... It's worth it." Dean just looked away from her.

Again.


	121. Chapter 121

_Sam_

Sam studied his brother. Ever since the djinn he seemed different, withdrawn and distracted. And every time they ran into Anna, Dean's protective streak kicked in on a level Sam hadn't seen since he was a little kid. It was absurd.

The man could barely stand to look at her, but if she was in town hunting something or passing through on her way to a hunt or he got a whiff of where she might be going next from Bobby, he hauled ass to be there too.

No matter what his brother claimed, he knew it had something to do with whatever he saw while under the djinn's spell. Anna refused to act any different, but even Sam could see that Dean's behavior was wearing on her. She had her own mission to take care of, one that Sam only loosely knew applied to the yellow eyed demon they were all trying to kill. But Sam had a bad feeling about her end goal.

He'd been having odd flashes of her, trapped in the dark, fighting something he couldn't see. Flashes of her falling, of her fighting, of her  _dying_. But he'd also seen odd things like her running into someplace dark, and her closing doors. Whenever those doors closed in his dreams, it was with a dull echoing thud, a finality that was ominous. But he had a feeling that his the doors stayed open something even worse would happen.

Sam kept the dreams to himself. Dean didn't need to know about them yet. Otherwise his brother would do something stupid, and Sam knew that if they interfered, then they would  _all_  die.

He felt guilty choosing him and Dean over Anna, but something told him she wouldn't mind at all.


	122. Chapter 122

_Anna_

Anna resisted to the urge to even shift her feet uncomfortably. She refused to show weakness, not when the Olympians were watching her. She knew what the veil was, and she even learned how to seal it. It wouldn't even take the armies that they'd been amassing to do it. At least not initially. They might be necessary to pick up the pieces after she closes it down. But she had no idea how to find Azazel, and he was the key. That demon had to die first. Otherwise it wouldn't almost had all the pieces in place. She almost groaned as the heavy clouds rumbled.

"I'm almost done Lord Zeus." She mumbles as she starts the engine of her bike.

"I've been on this quest for two years now; risking life and limb and the safety of both camps to finish the job. Give me a few days. I just want to say goodbye." The sky rumbled again, but less ominously. She frowned and shook her head.

"I'm not coming back from this, not if I'm right. It's not really like anyone believed I was dead anyways. They deserve more than a collect Iris message." The sky thundered once more and she smiles.

"I will take no more than two days at each camp. Thank you my lord." The now clear sky rumbled one last time as Anna swung her leg over her bike and roared down the highway.


	123. Chapter 123

_Anna_

When Anna pulled up to Half Blood Hill, a good number of camper looked like they'd seen a ghost. Weirdly enough, Camp Jupiter were worse at keeping secrets than the Greeks. All the Romans had known she was alive by lunch when she'd gone to help with Lycaon. Then again, Anna had taught her family a thing or two about secrets while she'd lived at Camp.

Chiron cantered up the hill, his expression irritated. While he had known, she hadn't come back to see him or IM'd him once in the five months she'd allowed him to know of her non-death. None of her siblings had known she was alive except Annabeth so Malcolm seemed to be leading a charge of the Cabin 6 kids. They were followed closely by Will Solace and Clarisse La Rue.

Anna winced. She probably pissed a few people off, but she wanted to say goodbye. Even if it hurt them more to see her alive before vanishing. It was selfish, but she couldn't bring herself to care quite enough to stop herself from doing it anyways.

Besides, Nico was at Camp, and Chiron was too. Annabeth and Percy were in New York and were coming down for the day. They all knew, and they deserved an in person farewell.

Anna felt a twinge of guilt. She'd made a shroud already, plain silver cloth with a snake and owl over an olive branch. The omega of Olympus was under the branch; symbolizing her work for the gods. She was going to leave it on her bed when she left tomorrow. They'd understand. Eventually.

"Dianne! I'm going to kill you!" Malcolm hollered even as Clarisse crashed into her, taking the older girl to the ground hard. Anna grunted as all the air  _wooshed_  out of her lungs.

"How could you do that to us!" Clarisse growled at her. "You're the only brainiac I can stand and you  _die_! Not just  _die_  but you pretend to die, leaving us behind to pick up those pieces!" By then the Athena Cabin had arrived. Anna got hit. A lot. Demigods tended towards loving violence when upset. She rubbed her shoulder where most of the gentle (ish) punches were landing.

"Quick question; how did you all know I faked it? I know only a couple people found out." She mumbled. That froze up a few people who had been yelling at her in English and Ancient Greek.

"Who knew?" Malcolm's voice was dangerous. He very rarely got that way, but when he lost his cool even Annabeth was careful. Anna took a half step back.

"Ummm..." She couldn't come up with an appropriate lie, the crowd of siblings and camp family overwhelming her. It was a new feeling, being unable to come up with a reasonable lie. Clarisse grabbed the back of her shirt and shook her gently.

"Answer the demigod!" She growled. Several others shouted their agreement.

"Nico, Annabeth, Percy, Chiron and Thalia. At first. Then somehow the Romans found out, so then I went and helped with Lycaon for a bit so the hunters know and then some other stuff happened and now I'm here?" She ended weakly.

Several faces were darker than thunderclouds. Anna shrank away from the angry expressions on their faces. Multiple campers wheeled around on Chiron, who looked displeased with the turn of events. Her next announcement was not going to go over well either.

"Also, I can only stay for the night..." As soon as the words left her mouth there was a riot.


	124. Chapter 124

_Anna_

Anna glanced back at Camp Half Blood. It had been her home for many years, no matter how strange that concept remained for her. This was where she had made for herself a family, a place she had bled and killed and fought to protect. To protect everything it represents. She'd fought in countless battles. She'd lost friends, family. She'd fought in two wars. Anna was one of only two dozen greek demigods to fight both the Titans and the Giants. One of less than that to survive both. The eldest surviving greek demigod. She said her goodbyes as subtly as she could, to her friends and to her siblings, to the very camp itself.

It had been nearly three years since she had lived within the camp's borders, and while the bonds made while at war and in battle are strong, time still faded memory and she knew most of camp failed to read her slightly odd behavior. To many of her friends had moved on or died. So many of her siblings, cousins and peers had left. Only Cabin six was suspicious but her folded shroud and collection of letters along with her last will and testament wouldn't be discovered for a little while longer. She'd hidden it pretty well among the book stacks, by the time anyone figured it out, hopefully it would be too late to stop her. Then again, her siblings were all genius's, so Athena knew what might happen.

She kicked off the ground, her bike engine rumbling. For this last battle, she would be armed to the teeth. She would not walk into this fight unprepared if she could help it. The enchanted bracelets circled her hands, the claws retracted on her fingers, both modified pistols holstered on her hips. The celestial bronze knives tucked around her body and Eleos was strapped to her back. She even carried her bow and quiver, carefully wrapped in a sleeping roll and tightly strapped to the back of her bike. She was ready to face down the fire demon, and the veil. But she had one last stop to make.

Camp Jupiter.


	125. Chapter 125

_Anna_

Anna looked herself over in the mirror. Her reflection stared out at her. Demigods as a rule were attractive. Most of them may not be Aphrodite's kids level of beautiful, (meaning pretty, but not supermodels) but godly genetics do have an affect. Even Mr. D's remaining son Pollux was handsome, and the wine god was no looker. It also came from years of battle training and constantly fighting for their lives. It also helped that demigods were fit; lean and often tanned from training outdoors all year. And it showed.

Anna inherited her mother's grey eyes, a hallmark of all the children of wisdom. Her own were a little paler, a little clearer than the rest, but still a bold and unusual silver grey. Her rich brown hair was a gift from her father, the natural wave a gift from him too. Proud regal features, high cheekbones, a straight nose, full lips. Anna knew that she was beautiful. But rarely does she choose to play it up. Killing monsters while playing spy, or fighting in wars left little time for vanity. And her scar collection was extensive, leaving her clothing options more limited than most. She avoided the beach if it wasn't at either demigod camp.

Today her long hair hung in loose curls over her shoulders, stopping just under her shoulder blades. Dark eyeliner highlighted her eyes, a slight silver shimmer of eyeshadow gracing her lids. Lipstick reddened her mouth and she'd borrowed concealer to hide a few of the more recent scars that had yet to fade sufficiently. She wore a white chiton trimmed in silver and grey, while a silver belt cinched her waist, showing off the hard earned figure of a warrior. Silver sandals, modeled after those worn in Ancient Greece were laced onto her feet. Over all she looked like a goddess had stepped off the marble block that she'd been carved on. Bethany, a daughter of Venus, squealed with delight. After all Anna was  _her_  masterpiece.

"Now you're ready for the Senate meeting!" She clapped her hands together. Anna was attending an emergency Senate meeting about the demon issue. Hopefully by the end of the week it would be as non existent as their usual monster problems. As in only on quests, or occasional flare ups. Her last Senate meeting. So she'd finally allowed the over enthusiastic child of Venus from the third cohort give her a make over for the occasion. Anna planned on saying her goodbyes afterwards at the mess before slipping away.

Her pyre would be at Camp Half Blood, her quarters at the embassy in New Rome already cleaned out, barren. She would leave a couple letters there too, one for Reyna, Terminus (even if he was a god) for Frank and Hazel, Bethany and a few others she had become friends with over the last couple of years. Anna was a little surprised how many letters she ended up writing. It had always felt like once a spy, always a spy; even if her skills had only been used a few times over the years. And undercover operatives were left little time or comfort for luxuries like friends. But somehow both camps had wormed their way into her heart. Even if none of them ever made it past the veritable fortress of secrets she hid behind, Anna had made real connections, real friends. Her secrets didn't matter to them. The only thing that any of them had cared about was that she came home alive. Anna took a deep breath.

' _Don't cry. Not yet. You still have some time.'_  She reminded herself. Nevertheless, as she walked towards New Rome and the Senate House, her eyes watered traitorously. Bethany, too distracted with straightening her own toga and fussing with her own appearance, didn't notice her wipe away a single tear.


	126. Chapter 126

_Anna_

Anna sped down the interstate, racing against time. The skirt of her chiton was sliced down either side of her body, the loose fabric snapping in the wind. She had thought she had more time, a few more days, but then Dean called the emergency line in the middle of lunch. He was frantic, Sam was missing, disappeared from right under his brother's watchful nose.

Anna knew that the demon's plans were finally coming together and so she abruptly left the Roman camp in order to race towards Bobby's house. Reyna had managed to gift her with a roman shield before she left, the heavy bronze plating strapped tightly against her back. The only other things she'd brought with her were her guns, a pocket knife, Eleos and the claws. She didn't take the time to grab anything else; no matter how prepared she'd tried to be when she'd left Camp Half Blood.

This was it, her quest was going to be over, one way or another, in the next few days.

Anna glanced down at her bike, calculating her fuel and the distance she had left to go. If she didn't stop, she would make it there in about a day. Anna revved the engine as she drove even faster.


	127. Chapter 127

_Anna_

Anna slowed down when she spotted the two men. She carefully guided her bike over onto the shoulder of the road where Dean and Bobby were already looking over a map that was spread out on the hood of Baby. Her godfather looked tense, while Dean, well, Dean looked exactly how Annabeth did while Percy was missing.

Like he was missing an essential part of himself. The brother's odd codependency was clearly showing through, Dean's every movement agitated and restless. Anna had picked up on it almost immediately two years ago, even though the two brothers hadn't seen each other in years. That bond had only grown deeper while they hunted for the fire demon the last two years.

Their bond, while beautiful, concerned Anna. That level of emotional attachment the brothers shared; it was like Percy's fatal flaw tied up in a single person. Dean would let the world burn if it meant saving his baby brother. Anna on the other hand, would not. Even if it cost her Dean's friendship, cost her any chance at something else, something...

Anna forced herself to refocus on the situation at hand, pushing aside any silly notions; knowing that they'd never come to fruition.

She killed the engine and yanked off her helmet, ignoring the mess the helmet had made of her carefully done curls. Her chiton was ruined and she hadn't bothered to change before she'd raced out of New Rome. She had only bothered to throw on a jacket as she'd raced to meet the hunters.

Both men absorbed her presence without a word, continuing their conversation. Neither noticed her odd clothing, they were so distracted by the map. Bobby traced his hand across the map.

"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month." Anna looked over the blank map. She was shocked. While the attacks had slowed, she hadn't realized by how much. She hadn't been paying close enough attention to the change in demonic activity as she should have. A sense of foreboding swept over her. They were in the calm before the storm; she could feel it in her bones. Dean glared at him.

"Are you joking? There's nothing here." Dean growled at the grizzled veteran. Bobby shrugged.

"Exactly." Anna pursed her lips.

_'Not helpful, not helpful at all Bobby.'_  She thought. Dean needed reassurance, not her godfather's usual tendency for monosyllabic grunts. Dean ran his hands through his hair, breathing hard.

"Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the, the, the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing." Bobby nodded.

"That's what I'm telling you. There's nothing. It's completely quiet." At this Anna couldn't keep silent.

"The hell you mean?" She snarled. After all Anna had left Camp Jupiter out of the blue to help track down one of the very few mortals she called friend, and Sam Winchester was also quite possibly one of the few decent hunters out there; one of the few who saw the world in shades of grey. She'd even considered telling him about being a demigod, but she knew if he knew about her world he would try to hunt the Greek and Roman monsters too. And she refused to let him get killed for something so pointless. Bobby glared at her out the corner of his eye, before looking a bit surprised. Now that she was off her bike, the chiton had fallen neatly round her legs, the tears up both legs hidden in the folds of the ancient style dress. She wore her leather bike jacket over it. It was an odd combination she admitted to herself.

_'Not the point!'_  She scolded internally. Meanwhile Dean had ignored her, continuing to glare at Bobby.

"Well, how are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?" Ann frowned at the caustic tone. She wanted to tell him off, that snapping at Bobby wouldn't find Sam any faster, but before she could open her mouth his phone rang. She peeked over his shoulder at the caller ID. Someone named Ash was calling. Dean immediately flipped it open.

"Ash, what do you got? Hang on, let me put you on speaker." He did so, then held the phone between the three of them. Dean finally looked at her. He did a double take as a male voice crackled through the speaker. Anna chose to ignore both of the wide eyed men in favor of listening to the oddly hippy sounding caller. She would put money of the owner of the voice being either drunk or high. Or possible both.

"Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam,"

"Oh, come on, man!" Dean's panic was clear. His fear for his brother was clear in his voice, worry etched in every line in his face. Anna shifted uncomfortably, her dress getting heavy and wet from the rain that was beginning to come down. She kept her eyes trained on the phone, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach as Dean's eyes roved over her body.

"You've gotta give us something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here." Dean demanded. The voice on the phone was dead serious as it responded.

"Listen, Dean. I did find something."

"Well, what?" Dean snapped back at him, impatient. Anna frowned at him and motioned for him to calm down. He ignored her, glaring at the little piece of machinery in his hand. The little black box that was giving off little monster attracting waves to come kill her. Anna prayed that the phone call would be over sooner rather than later. She did not want to have to explain her kind of monsters to Dean, especially when they had bigger issues to worry about.

"I can't talk over this line, Dean." Dean threw his hands up in frustration, almost hitting Anna in the face. She dodged it neatly.

"Come on, I don't have time for this!"

"Make time, okay?" The voice, Ash, snapped.

"Because this..."

"Get to the point." Anna interrupted, she was tired of beating around the bush. This Ash was worse than the gods damned Oracle. At least the spirit of Delphi gave you all the information she could give you all at once, no matter how cryptic. Rachel was accurate, and efficient, if a bit annoying. This dude had spent over two minutes trying to tell them they weren't safe. Well no fucking shit kiddo, get on with the vital information. Anna tuned back into the conversation.

"Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is... Ah, it's huge. So get here. Now." Ash hung up the phone. Dean groaned in frustration as he flipped his phone shut.

"I guess we're going to the Roadhouse." He looked at Anna and Bobby.

"Come on," He snapped as he moved to the Impala. Anna loaded her bike onto the back of Bobby's truck. She couldn't ride in the rain. Not in these clothes. Besides, riding in the car would give her a chance to catch up on some sleep. She had a feeling she was going to need it.


	128. Chapter 128

_Anna_

"What the hell?" Dean muttered. They'd pulled up to the smoking remains of what Bobby had gruffly called the Roadhouse. Anna leapt out of the car with Bobby and Dean hot on her heels. She hurried towards the charred ruins, her hands automatically fluttering towards her weapons. She tapped each one, cataloging her resources in a familiar routine as she walked up to the burned remains of what clearly used to be a well visited stop over point. Stepping carefully through the ashes, she dragged out Eleos from her sheath. If this was a monster attack it could still be in there. Or there could be survivors if, like most buildings in the midwest, it had an underground storm shelter that had been safe from the flames.

Dean followed her, watching as she moved methodically across the burned expanse, the hem of her chiton gathering shoot and dust, turning the light fabric black and grey.

"Oh, my God." Bobby was surveying the damage, horror apparent in his tone. Dean marched across the destroyed building, mechanic in his survey of the destruction.

"You see Ellen?" He asked stiffly. Bobby shook his head, also switching to business mode.

"No, no Ash, either." The old hunter responded. Anna looked back at them both from across the ruins. All she'd found were bodies, or what was left of them. She shook her head sadly.

"No survivors." She said shortly, trying not to vomit. The smoke and the stench of burned flesh clogged her throat, dragging her memories back to the wars, to battles fought and more specifically that one horrible failed quest with Cory Westins.

"Oh, Ash, damn it!" Dean had found a broken watch. Anna assumed it belonged to this Ash he was looking for. She sighed, feeling a small upwelling of grief for a man she'd never met. But this was what war looked like. Blood and death and casualties that you can't prevent, that you can't even  _try_  to prevent. Accepting the costs hurts, but forcing oneself to swallow it down and march on anyways. She was under no illusions now. Anna was waging a one demigod war against the creatures of the veil, both camps fighting only in the smaller skirmishes, while she made alliances with one of the greater threats to her and her family; mortal hunters.

"This is..." She couldn't find the words. No matter who died, no matter how hardened a soldier, scenes like this would still find a way to strike home. Anna had practice pushing down the horror, processing the pain quickly, assimilating the tragedy of war. Dean on the other hand... Anna studied him as he stomped out from the rubble towards the car. He was angry, on the surface, but when Anna kept looking she saw all the little cues she'd learned, they shared a different message. One that was infinitely more worrying.

Dean was  _afraid_.

"What the hell did Ash know? We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?" He ranted. He was not processing well. Anna decided to try something new. She walked up to Dean and grabbed his shoulder roughly, pulling him away from the gruesome scene. Anna had comforted Sam before, but never Dean. Not really. Not in a moment like this.

"We'll find him." She insisted. She made it an order, something Dean (unfortunately) understood better than reassurance. Dean looked at her blankly for a moment before he doubled over.

"Dean? Dean?" Anna called to him softly. She recognized that look. Sam had worn it one too many times around them both for her not to recognize it. Bobby was standing next to them.

"What was that?" Bobby asked. Dean looked confused.

"I don't know. A headache?" He offered. Bobby cocked an eyebrow while Anna scoffed at her friend's stupidity.

"You get headaches like that a lot?" Dean shook his head, taking Anna's hand. She was so surprised, that she let him.

"No. Must be the stress. I could have sworn I saw something." Anna rolled her eyes again.

"Like a vision?" She prompts sarcastically. He needs to figure it out for himself, this is a quest after all. These things happen to people for a reason. Dean glared at her.

"What? No!" Anna kept her eyes trained on him, one eyebrow raised. He looked angry again, but true anger this time. Not fear parading as something else.

"Come on, I'm not some psychic." Anna scoffed at him, but a moment later he fell to his knees crying out again. She silently cursed the fates for making him so thick headed. Anna dropped down next to him, wrapping her arms tightly around Dean's broad shoulders.

"Dean? Dean! Are you with me?" She asked as he seemed to come back to himself. The hunter nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. I saw Sam." He looked at them. "I  _saw_  him." Bobby kneeled down next to them.

"It was a vision." Anna rolled her eyes.

_'Of course it was a vision dumbass.'_ She thought affectionately. Dean kept going on about the vision, without telling them what he saw. Which is the important part.

"Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah. Whew. That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels."

"What did you see?" Anna prompted him.

"Uh... There was a bell." He muttered, concentrating.

"What kind of bell?" She asked, trying to help him fill in the big picture.

"Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know."

"Engraving?" Dean nodded as he started to get up.

"Yeah." Now Bobby got involved, helping Dean up.

"Was it a tree? Like an oak tree?" Dean nodded and leaned on Anna a little, his arm draped over her shoulders, while she supported his waist.

"Yeah, exactly." Anna felt her face drain of all its' blood. Bobby's did too.

"I know where Sam is." They said at the same time.


	129. Chapter 129

_Dean_

They were pulling up to a stretch of woods that Bobby had directed them to. It was as close as they could get to the town in the car.

"Looks like the rest of the way is on foot," Bobby said nervously. Anna fiddled in the backseat, checking over all her weapons. Dean had almost been disappointed when Anna had changed out of the weird looking dress. He'd been so caught up in finding Sam that he had failed to appreciate how quickly she had arrived.

Anna, the near stranger who also happened to be one of their closest friends, and one of their best allies, had dropped everything to show up from, what he'd overheard her tell Bobby, San Francisco all the way to South Dakota in just under fifteen hours.

That would have put her driving nonstop at over a hundred miles an hour,  _at least_. When she had shown up, it was in what looked like dirty jeans under a floaty white dress, that not only looked expensive, but had clearly been cut with Eleos up both sides. Anna had looked like a literal goddess, even in a dirty dress. This brilliant, amazing woman had dropped everything for him and his family. She'd literally left in the middle of something important and come for him and his brother, without bothering to change or to grab anything but a few weapons. Which for some reason included a large bronze shield.

Dean got out and opened the trunk, pulling out guns to hand to Bobby and Anna. As usual she declined, patting the small of her back which held the two pistols she'd shown him before, during that first case they'd worked together in Colorado. He slammed the trunk shut.

"Let's go."


	130. Chapter 130

_Anna_

Something was wrong. Dean was shouting and time was moving in all sorts of wrong directions. It was like fighting in the presence of Kronos again. Anna could feel it in the depths of her bones that something was  _severely_  wrong.

"Sam!" Dean roared. They turned the corner to see Sam, and relief flooded through Anna. She's wrong, he's ok, they're all going to be ok. Sam was injured, but alive. He was alive and moving and that's all that mattered; everything else is just gravy. It was one of those rare strokes of luck. Anna took a sharp breath as she processed what she just thought.

"Dean!" Anna saw movement behind Sam and couldn't help screaming. She'd jinxed fate, and every demigod knew that tempting fate was the fastest way to get killed. Or to get someone else killed.

"Sam!" She screamed, reaching for her weapons.

"Sam! Look out!" The man ran Sam through. From the back. A coward's move. Anna felt a rage that she hadn't felt in a long time start to burn through her. Sam fell to his knees, gasping. She drew a knife and with expert precision flicked it at the coward who dared to wear a soldier's uniform. The blade glinted before passing through him harmlessly.

Mortal.

A  _mortal_ , killed her friend. A human. Anna screamed in rage, yanking her gun out, firing at the retreating form of Sam's attacker with lead bullets.

"No!" Dean's scream split the night. Anna didn't even stop as Dean slid to the ground in front of Sam, grabbing him as he started to fall forward. She pelted past them both, trying to catch the mortal who killed her friend. But even for the demigod, he had to much of a head start. She didn't waste another round when he disappeared into the woods. Instead she turned and ran back past Bobby, who had followed. They both raced back to Sam, cradled in Dean's arms.

"Sam, come on, hey." Dean's hands were covered in blood and even though Anna had seen the knife go in, she hadn't quite believed her friend could die until she saw it. The tall lanky body that used to contain all that was Sam Winchester laid in the mud as his brother desperately tried to staunch the blood flow.

Anna, with her intimate knowledge of war and battle and the injuries that follow it knew exactly which organs had been perforated, which muscles and ligaments had been torn, which blood vessels had ruptured to allow the red substance to flow so freely over Dean's hands. Field training as a medic had not been easy, but she'd done it. The Apollo cabin was always stretched thin, so most of camp had been given lessons on the subject in case a healer wasn't on hand. Today she cursed the very knowledge that had not only saved her life, but the lives of her friends. Because now she knew with professional certainty that even if Sam made it to a hospital in the next two minutes, if they got him in a hospital in the next thirty  _seconds_ , not even the very finest doctors could save him. If he'd been a demigod, neither nectar nor ambrosia could save him. Her first mortal friend, her first friend in college, was going to die.

"Hey, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Sammy? Sam!" Dean begged his brother, but Sam's gaze was losing focus, and he was slumping.

"Hey, listen to me," Dean said desperately. Anna froze her heart, her mind, pushing away the burning emotions writhing inside of her. She forced herself to focus, to have the cold clarity needed to win the war, instead of mourning the lost battle.

Just the way she had done all those years ago during the demigod wars. Steeling herself for the battle to come, rather than face the losses of now. She'd lied to Sam in Colorado. Sometimes, not grieving, but fighting  _was_  the right track. Today she was a soldier. Maybe if she lived to see tomorrow or the next day, then she would be allowed to grieve.

"We're gonna patch you up, okay? You'll be good as new. Huh? I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take you care of you. I've got you. That's my job, right? Watch out for my pain in the ass little brother? Sam? Sam! Sam! Sammy!" Dean's voice was cracking, and Anna had blink away the sting in her eyes at the heartbreak in his voice. Sam's eyes closed, and he fell forward limply.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no." Dean was chanting over and over, shaking Sam. Anna almost reached out to stop him, but stopped herself. It wouldn't make a difference to Sam's death.

Dean's face twisted up, fear and pain and sadness and an unnamable  _something_  all mixed up in a potent cocktail of anguish. Anna remembered that face. Her, and every other demigod had worn it every time they found a sibling, cousin,  _friend_  dead during the wars. She was struggling to keep it off her own face, the ice she had once been so good at conjuring melting away quickly as the hot blooded pain washed over her. So she did the only thing she could do. She prayed. Anna knelt down next to Dean, the words tumbling out of her mouth as she cupped Sam's still warm cheek.

_*"Τιμή του άνδρα που αγωνίστηκε στο όνομα του αθώου. Ένας ήρωας του λαού, ίσως εκείνοι που ζουν μετά από αυτόν να βρουν ειρήνη από το θύμα του. Ο Θανάτου φροντίζει για την ψυχή του, ο Ερμής τον στέλνει γρήγορα στον Κάτω Κόσμο και ο Χάγης μπορεί να σας κρίνει δίκαια. και να σας χαρίσει την ειρήνη στην Ελυσιανή."_  Anna whispered the prayer as Dean shouted again into his brother's face. She could only hope that the gods heard her. Bobby squeezed her shoulder tightly. Sam's eyes were closed, his mouth slack. He was gone.

"Sam!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *In honor of the man who fought in the name of the innocent. A hero of the people, may those who live on after him find peace from his sacrifice. Thanatos care for his soul, Hermes send him quickly to the Underworld and may Hades judge you justly; and give you peace in Elysian.
> 
> (Greek)


	131. Chapter 131

_Anna_

Dean sat in a chair next to the bed where Sam's body lay. Anna stood next to him, taking her turn to keep an eye on the unstable hunter. Bobby had gone out for something to eat.

Anna wasn't hungry. She ate mechanically, fueling her body as she patrolled the area constantly, taking out her grief and anger and pain (gods, the  _pain)_  on every monster she came across. She locked down the howling, turbulent emotions before returning to the quiet house though. She needed clarity to face Dean and Bobby; to face the task at hand. The end of her quest. She sighed, tightening her grip on Dean's should slightly before she let go, moving to sit on the sagging couch in the next room.

Wasn't this kind of pain supposed to end with the war? This ripping, tearing, horrible emptiness that accompanied loss was supposed to be gone until she was old and wrinkled. This was the horrible feeling that came when you lose a friend in the field of battle. This wasn't the same as when someone failed to come home from a quest. She was  _on_  the quest, and this time Sa... her  _friend_ , died in front of her. Less than five feet away. If she'd only cocked her gun, instead of throwing the damn knife. If only he hadn't been a mortal. If only she'd shot the man instead of screaming. If only, if only, _if only_.

It had been two days. Dean had hardly moved, and Anna couldn't seem to compartmentalize. At least not the way she used too, back in the titan fighting, giant killing, primordial destroying days. But grief is a circle, and you never lean in the person on the inside ring. Dean was the closest to the center as it gets, and Bobby was inside her ring too. She could be strong for all of them. If she was strong enough, she could kill the cowardly bastard who did this. Except she doesn't kill demigods. Not when she doesn't need to. Not anymore. And they weren't supposed to harm mortals either; they're beneath the god's notice, beneath her blade. Chiron had always said as much. So why does she want to kill that soldier so badly?

Anna forced Dean to eat. Forced herself to eat. Forced Bobby to eat, even though he seemed to be the most together of the trio. But his ring was inside hers, so even if she wanted to she can't lean on him. Anna can be strong enough for the three of them. Dean was steadily drinking, offering Anna every so often. She refused. War is no place for a drunk. She would salute Sam when it was all over.

 _'If you even survive. Which you won't.'_ Came the traitorous thought. She snarked back to herself.

 _'I'm leaving Abba's good whiskey with Bobby. He knows to break it out for the deaths. He'll drink it for me.'_  The door opened before Anna could argue with herself anymore. She didn't need to look back to know it was Bobby. Dean just didn't move.

"Dean? Anna? Brought you guys some food."

"No, thanks. We're fine." Dean spoke for both of them. Anna was a little irritated that Dean spoke for her. But she let it go considering that he was right, and that it did no harm for him to be a little bit in control at the moment.

"You should eat something." Bobby said gruffly. Anna knew he was right. Maybe she would eat something, then she could go patrol again. Maybe kill a monster or a demon that was getting to close. Drawn by her demigod aura. She would hunt and kill and defend the way she did best. Her mind and her blade against something that seems bigger and stronger. But  _Anna_  is smarter, cleverer; she's better trained, better  _bred_. Demigods are born from sterner stuff than the average mortal. She was honestly surprised that neither of the boys had noticed that she was just a little bit stronger, a little bit faster than she should be. Just that little bit more durable, healing from more serious injuries a little bit quicker, a little bit easier than any normal human had right too. Anna wondered if they noticed, but didn't care; the way Dean looked the other way about his brother's visions.

"I said we're fine." She heard the whiskey splash in the bottle. Anna turned to go to Bobby, but Dean reached up to grip her arm. She glanced down at the heartbroken Dean. He didn't even look away from the body, but she knew he was asking her to stay. So she did. Bobby shifted nervously.

"Dean...I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... We bury Sam?" Anna tensed, knowing what Dean's answer would be. And it wouldn't be to say that they were going to burn him.

"No." Dean said with finality. Bobby sighed.

"We could... Maybe..." Dean was deadly calm.

"What? Torch his corpse? Not yet." His voice was cool, detached. Just the way Anna was trying to feel inside. She knew she was right when she told Sa... her friend, two years ago to let oneself grieve. But war was different. And Anna knew something was coming, something worse. And only after the something worse came, could she seal the veil. Bobby sighed before continuing.

"I want you guys to come with me."

"We're not going anywhere." Bobby seemed to realize that Anna wasn't going to say anything around Dean. She looked at her godfather, who gave her a slight nod. Dean needed control, and support and some stability. Anna could do that for him, was fast enough, strong enough, smart enough to protect Dean until they could kill the thing responsible for Sam's death. Meaning if Bobby wanted Anna to go with him, he'd have to convince Dean.

"Dean, please." Dean grew tense. Bad sign. Especially with the cheap, but strong, whiskey he'd been drinking.

"Would you cut me some slack?" Dean snapped.

"I just... I don't think you guys should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit, I could use your help." Dean snorted.

"Something big is going on. End of the world big." Anna frowned at Bobby. He wasn't supposed to know, and even if he did, that information should go to her, or other demigods. Not a mortal who shouldn't be forced into being the Fates' pawns alongside the heroes who never got a choice. Especially when he was grieving. Dean stood up, gripping her hand.

"Well then let it end!" he bellowed. Anna didn't say anything, it wasn't time yet. She understood his pain, she really did. But that didn't mean Anna would stand aside and let that world stop spinning. And honestly, neither would Dean. But right now that part of him was just buried under the booze and the pain. Bobby, however, was shocked.

"You don't mean that." Dean let go of her arm in order to get in Bobby's face.

"You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'd turn around, and get the hell out of here." Anna had heard enough.

"That's enough." She said quietly, her arm shooting forward to restrain Dean from attacking Bobby again. Dean looked at her, breathing hard. She continues, her voice dry and cracked from lack of use over the past couple days.

"Dean, you're hurting. I get it, I really really do. But so is Bobby, and so am I. So that's enough." It was all she could say in a steady voice. So she stopped. Dean turned to Bobby.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go." Bobby turned around and sighed.

"You know where I'll be, kids." He looked directly at Anna.

 _"Et veniunt in domum Anai. Et tu venis auxilio fatuus est in domum suam. Ne moriar aliquid facere stultus auditis?"_  The older man said to her in Latin. Anna gave him a wane smile and shook her head. Bobby should know better, demigods always died doing something stupid while helping people. The Mars legacy may have been out of the legion for years, but he still had some kick left in him. Bobby left.

Dean returned to his seat. Anna moved to go patrol the perimeter again, but stopped when Dean placed his hand on her hip. He slowly dragged her into his lap, her legs resting across his. She sighed then adjusted herself to be more comfortable, not saying a word. She carefully removed Eleos from her back, and both guns from her hips, placing them on the floor but still within arms reach. Anna leaned back and wrapped her arms around Dean, even as he resumed watching his brother's corpse. She could patrol later. Dean needed her now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *You come home Anai. You help dumbass there and then you come home. Don't die doing something stupid you hear?
> 
> (Latin)


	132. Chapter 132

_Anna_

It seemed incredible to her, but Anna had somehow fallen asleep. Even when exhausted and at war she had problems with sleeping; her mind usually unable to turn off enough to allow her to rest. And yet, here she was, waking up, stretched out on the floor in the dark room where her friend's body lay. She didn't even dream, which made it all even more strange. Anna stretched, sitting up. She realized that Dean's voice had woken her up. He was talking to Sa... the body.

"You know, when we were little, you couldn't been more than five, you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go? When he'd take off for days at a time? I remember I begged you, 'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know.'" He paused, trying to control his emotions. Anna quietly sat up, collecting her weapons so she could patrol again. He didn't look at her, he just kept talking. Anna moved faster, she didn't want to listen to this.

"I just wanted you to be a kid... Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you... Keep you safe... Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job... I had one job... And I screwed it up. I blew it. And for that, I'm sorry. I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. And now I guess I'm just supposed to let you down, too. How can I... How am I supposed to live with that?" He started to cry, and Anna crept from the room. This was private. As she left, she heard the chair scrape across the floor.

"What am I supposed to do?!" The sound of his anguished roar followed her outside. She exited the building, unsheathing Eleos. She wanted to fight something. Anything. She couldn't stop that human, but she can stop monsters. So she wants to go kill something. Anything.

Dean walked outside, next to her. He was putting his coat on.

"Dean?" She stood in front of him, searching his face for clues as to what he planned on doing. He didn't look at her.

"Get out of the way Anna."

"What are you going to do?" He finally looked her eyes. Shattered grief and desperation filled his beautiful green eyes. Anna recognized that desperation. She'd seen it mirrored in the eyes of a certain son of Poseidon before his first quest. She'd seen it in Silena Beauregard's eyes as she'd faced down the Lydian Drakon. And in the eyes of dozens of other heroes before they did something incredibly stupid because they'd lost someone they loved. She stood her ground.

"Get out of my way Anna, I don't want to make you move." Anna didn't move. He couldn't make her move on a good day, and most certainly not in his current state.

"I'd like to see you try." She retorted dryly. Anna was itching for a fight anyways. Not a monster, but he would do in a pinch. Dean growled but didn't attack. Interesting. Anna asked a different question.

"Is this going to be helpful in anyway? Or is it going to be stupid and get someone killed?" He glared at her.

"It's something I have to do." Anna raised an eyebrow, pushing down her rising fears.

"Is this something going to kill another friend of mine?" She asked softly. She examined Dean's unmoved face then made a gamble. Anna took a shuddering breath, gathering her courage before dropping her guard a little, allowing a fraction of her turbulent emotions to shine through. Dean's eyes widened at her hesitant display of trust. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. Dean suddenly pulled her into a hug. Anna stiffened with shock.

"Stay here with Sam. Don't let Bobby or anyone bury or burn him. I'll be back." He met her eyes, steely determination shining in their green depths.

"I'm going to fix this Anna." He walked around her, getting into the Impala. Anna frowned at him. He was a self destructive son of a bitch. Anna ruthlessly crushed down everything inside her that was screaming at her to stop him. To  _save_  him.

But Anna had a mission too, and no matter how much this new sin of hers was going to blacken her already stained soul, she had to let him make his own choices. Anna needed to live just a few days longer, and Dean's loyalty to his brother would get in the way of her plans. She refused to let her tears fall.

"Dean." She called. He glanced at her through the open window of his car. She cannot condone this, this abomination he is about to commit, this insult. She knows that he is risking the wrath of Hades with his desperate attempt to regain his brother. And she won't help him. She can't afford to. But Anna cares about him too much to let him go without at least warning him.

"Upsetting the natural order is dangerous. It has a price. Whoever you go to will take advantage of your pain. Be careful, and remember that eventually, someone besides you will have to pay for the choices you're about to make." She advised coldly. Anna turned away, refusing to watch him leave. A traitorous tear trickled down her face. She really is a selfish bitch. She knows the price of the deal Dean is about to make, the price of stealing Sam back from the Underworld. And Anna has nothing left to lose. But she knows that if she takes Dean's place, it could screw up everything.

So instead of protecting him, she's letting Dean, someone she... Anna pushes that thought away... she's letting Dean go do something incredibly stupid because it doesn't fit with her own plans. Anna hates herself just that much more as she hears the Impala's engine roar. The car drives out of town behind her, even as she stalks towards the woods.

Anna  _really_  needs to kill something.


	133. Chapter 133

_Dreams_

_Eleos flashed in the dim light, her blade an arc of destruction around her. Too many of her siblings had fallen or been incapacitated and she was left to defend the bridge alone._

_She wove her craft well, her knowledge of monsters unparalleled. After all she had spent years as a spy, training with the enemy. It gave Anna a powerful advantage, using her knowledge of their strategies and abilities against them. She had rarely showed off her own skills fully, leaving her with an small element of surprise._

_Anna became death incarnate on that lonely bridge. She smirked as she waded through the opposing army, as she hacked, slashed and parried. She threw her knives without looking, her aim flawless. There was nothing but her and the enemy. Her sword and shield holding back an army that threatened her family._

_She heard screams and shouting from the reinforcements that had finally arrived, but she couldn't rest. Not yet. Everyone was tired, and Kronos's forces had gotten close enough. Anna refused to move an inch, her pride and sheer willpower fueling her exhausted limbs. No demigod could fight as she had for so long without consequence. Sooner rather than later she would have to bend. But not yet. She could hold the line just a little while longer until the reinforcements reached her._

'Hold the line. Just a little longer. I can hold the line just a little longer.' _She thought desperately before pushing forward again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI this is the Battle of Manhattan. The Athena Cabin held the 59th street bridge in the books, so I gave Anna this. A lot of the stories focuses on how Percy/Annabeth/Thalia etc saved Olympus. But all the other campers did a lot of work defending the city. And so they got titles relating to that. 
> 
> So instead of being a Hero of Olympus, like so many other stories might have done, Anna is the Hero of the 59th Street Bridge and Hero of Manhattan. Which personally, way more impressive. And way more thankless. (But then I wrote her, so I'm a little biased :) )


	134. Chapter 134

_Anna_

Anna woke up to strangled gasps from the other room. She smoothly rolled off the dusty couch she'd fallen asleep on after her patrol and raced into the room with Eleos drawn.

Sam was sitting up, gasping his hand clutching at his chest. Anna knew the instant he registered her standing in the doorway, her sword drawn. She calmly crossed the room to stand by the bed next to him, never lowering her blade. Anna never once let slip the panic and painful hope that was tearing her apart inside. Instead she tilted her head sideways, calmly making a full assessment of Sam, taking in the color of his cheeks, the lack of bruising on his body.

_'Holy Hades, what did I let Dean do?_ ' She knew. She'd known what he was going to do, what he'd been planning. And she hadn't stopped him. But looking at Sam now... What had she allowed Dean to do?

"Anna? Anna, what the hell is going on? Where are Dean and Bobby?" She didn't respond, just studied him. He almost looked too good. He looked too alive. All she knew was that Sam's soul was released from the Underworld and back here, with her. And that she had let Dean do something dangerous to do it.

She finally sheathed Eleos, no matter how the unnatural this was, she knew it was Sam. Not a monster. She squeezed his arm gently before answering his question.

"Bobby went home. Dean went on an errand."

"What happened?" He looked around at the room he was in, confused by the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Where are we?" Coming back from the dead would have consequences. Not just whatever Dean paid, but ones Sam would have to live with. Consequences that could be delayed by withholding information. She weighed all the choices, the good, the bad, the ugly and the painful; her mind racing through strategies and plans. Then she came to her decision. And Anna did what Anna did best; she lied. Or rather, she withheld the truth.

"You were stabbed, it was... bad. We're in one of the houses in the town you were attacked in."

"Stabbed?" Sam felt around his chest. "Where?" Anna growled, the memory bringing a harsh snarl to her face.

"In the back, a coward's move. Turn around, I need to check on it Short Stuff." Sam stared at her, as though he didn't recognize her through the anger and disgust twisting her features. He then slowly lifted his shirt. Anna carefully examined the fully healed scar on his back. Even if Sam had survived the traditional way, that kind of wound shouldn't have healed so quickly. Anna got a sick feeling in her stomach. She had a bad feeling as to what Dean might have done to bring Sam back. That's not true, she knew  _exactly_  what he had done. And it was even more stupid and dangerous than what she thought he was originally going to do.

"Does it look bad?" He looked over his shoulder at her. Anna had let the silence drag on too long. She pasted a smile on her face before shaking her head.

"It looks fine Sam." She stood next to him as he pulled his shirt down. As she guided him back onto the bed she couldn't help the next sentiment.

"You gave me a good scare Short Stuff. I'm glad you're going to be ok." she said softly. He met her eyes.

"Anna what the hell is going on?" Anna sighed, looking her friend in the eyes.

"I have some theories. But I don't really know. We'll talk to Dean when he gets back." She shrugged, praying that he would accept the half truth. Anna almost certainly knew what had happened. And if anything, never bet against an Athena kid. But the Winchesters, being mortal, had yet to learn this. Sam looked at her, worry written across his face.

"Where is Dean?" She shook her head, this time telling the truth.

"I don't know." Sam just sighed. Anna sat next to him on the bed, struggling to suppress the constant need to patrol. Her friend was alive and vulnerable. For now, she would guard him. When Dean returns, she can patrol again.

Anna was getting the same hollow feeling that precedes battle.

It had begun.


	135. Chapter 135

_Dean_

Dean knew what he did was stupid. So stupid that if either Anna or his brother found out, they'd kill him. But it was also justice, he should have died already; so in a way what he did was making it right. Even if his brother and friend wouldn't see it that way. He prayed that the demon came through. Pulling into the driveway of the house they'd taken over he steadied his breathing. It  _had_  to work. Dean just  _sold his soul_  for his brother. He better be fine. Dean raced into the house.

"Sam?" As soon as he got inside his eyes landed on Anna and Sam sitting at the table.

"Sammy? Thank God." He pulled Sam to his feet and pulled him into a tight embrace. Sam was chuckling. Right, Dean was being weird. No chick flick moments. Sam cannot know what he did.

"Ow, uh, Dean..." Dean released him and stood back, carefully inspecting his baby brother, just like he had a thousand thousand times before. Heart beat, check. Deep even breathing, check. Puppy dog eyes looking at Dean like he's crazy, check.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, man. I'm just... I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all." Sam nodded, and looked confused. What did Anna tell him? Better yet, what was Dean going to tell them? It was turning into quite a mess.

"Sit down boys." Anna commanded them quietly. Obediently Sam sat, and Dean sat opposite him. He made another cursory check of Sam, making sure he was ok.

"Okay. Dean... What happened to me?" Dean looked nervously at Anna. He'd just up and run out the door. He had no clue what Anna told him. And right now, Dean trusted Anna's judgement. He wasn't going to fuck up anything she did to protect Sam while he'd been gone.

"Well, what do you remember?" Sam looked down at the table before he started.

"Well Anna said I got stabbed." Sam said, frowning as he thought, "I remember that I saw you and Anna and Bobby, and... I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like... white-hot, you know, and then you started running at me, and... That's about it." Dean nodded. He didn't know that he'd died. Good.

"Yeah, that... That kid, stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood, you know... It was pretty touch and go for a while." Sam was looking between the two of them. Anna's face was a blank mask.

"But Dean, you can't... You can't patch up a wound that bad." Dean grinned and wrapped his arm around Anna's warm body pressed into his side, a comforting presence. It felt natural. Right. Dean mentally shook himself. Cover story. ASAP.

"No, but she could. Thank God she stuck around with us all this time huh?" Sam nodded in acceptance. Anna had patched all of them too many times from all sorts of wounds effectively for him to question Dean too much. Anna herself made incredible recoveries all the time, so his cover story wasn't complete bull. Well it was, but Sam didn't need to know that. He kept going, looking at Sam.

"Who was that kid, anyway?"

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?" Dean shook his head.

"No, he disappeared into the woods." Anna snarled.

"Coward." She spat out. Dean looked at her more closely in surprise. She looked terrible, as though she hasn't eaten or slept in days. Her body was beaten and bruised as though she'd gone out and gotten into multiple fights recently. Dean should have noticed that earlier, but he'd been to wrapped up in Sam that he'd completely forgotten that he had other people to take care of. Dean was angry with himself. He should have paid attention to her, known she was hurt, and helped her. Patched her up at the very least, but he should have made sure she didn't get into those fights those in the first place. Sam was getting angry.

"We've got to find him, Dean. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart." He stood, and Dean stood with him. Anna stayed seated, clenching and unclenching her fists in anger. Dean put his hands on Sam's shoulders.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right? Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?" Sam nodded. Anna stood abruptly. Her usual dispassionate mask and fallen back over her features, no sign of the anger she'd just displayed left.

"Bobby left some food for us." She marched out of the room and when Dean tried to follow, she shot him a glare so fierce, he took a half step back. Dean had a sinking feeling that Anna knew  _exactly_  what he did. And she was not happy about it.


	136. Chapter 136

_Dean_

They were sitting at the table eating. While he and Sam had polished off most of the food she had brought in, Anna was just pushing her food around. She'd figured out what Dean had done the moment he'd walked back through the door. He knew she was disappointed in him, angry with his choices. But she didn't lecture him, didn't yell or scream at him. She kept her mouth shut and helped him lie to Sammy. Dean wasn't sure if he was relieved or sad that all of a sudden she just didn't care.

In between bites of pizza, Sam filled them in on what had happened to him and the other special kids in that town.

"And that's when you guys showed up." His kid brother summed up. Anna just blinked tiredly at Sam as she stood up to collect the trash. Dean noticed that she hadn't eaten anything. He made a mental note to make sure she ate something later. His brother rubbed a hand over his face, looking a little confused.

"The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive." Dean's eyebrows rose at this confession.

"He told you that?" He asked carefully. Sam scoffed.

"Yeah. He appeared in a dream." Anna looked at him sharply.

"A dream? Did he tell you anything else?" She asked, her face hard and calculating.

"No. No. That was it. Nothing else. You know, what I don't get, Dean, is if the demon only wanted one of us, then how did Jake and I both get away?" Anna looked vaguely irritated by how quickly Sam tried to change the topic. Dean would be too, except he had no idea how to respond to the massive bomb of a question his brother just asked. Dean swallowed hard and glanced over at Anna. She just raised her eyebrow at him, letting him know that this was his mess.

"Well, I mean, they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over." He lied before pausing. Then Dean deflected right back at his brother.

"So now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what's he gonna do with him?" Sam didn't look convinced by his flimsy lie. Anna looked disappointed in Dean. As though he had failed some test she wanted him to pass.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we got to stop him." Sam said firmly, his face hard and determined. Dean frowned, a little worried. Sam had been resurrected for less than an hour. No way was he going to let his kid brother throw himself back into the crossfire so soon. And if he was honest, he also wanted to make sure Anna rested a little too. She was looking a little ragged, but he knew asking her directly was a good way to get hit, then for Anna to go off and do her own thing anyways.

"Well, hold on. You need to get your rest. We got time." Anna and Sam wore matching expressions of disbelief.

"No, we don't." Sam stood up. Anna rested a hand on Sam's arm, calming the taller man down, even as she glared incredulously at Dean. Dean stood up, gently pressing Sam back into his chair.

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first." Anna rolled her eyes at Dean. He almost smirked back at her when Sam sighed.

"Well did you call the Roadhouse? They know anything?" Anna looked at Dean sympathetically. He looked away from his brother, remembering the smoking ruins they'd found, the bodies, the ash... He wished that he didn't have to tell Sam about it.

"What is it? What happened?" Sam asked anxiously as he took in both Dean and Anna's mournful expressions. Anna took Sam's hand. Dean felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Even if he had no right to feel that way. Especially because he knew for a fact neither of them held those kinds of feelings for the other. That he knew of. Dean sighed and sat down again.

"The Roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Probably Ellen... A lot of other hunters, too." Sam's eyes filled with tears. Anna squeezed his hand. He looked at her.

"Demons?" She nodded.

"Probably. We think it's because your friend, Ash, found something."

"What did he find?" Sam asked, his voice hard; like he was giving an order.

"Bobby's working on that right now," Dean said nervously. What was Bobby going to think when he realizes what Dean had done? Sam stood, reaching for his coat. Anna followed suit, tapping her hands over her weapons before shrugging into her own jacket. Sam tossed him the car keys.

"Well, come on then. Bobby's only a few hours away."


	137. Chapter 137

_Anna_

She snuck away while Bobby and Dean had it out over Dean's deal when they arrived in Sioux Falls.

Anna stood in the center of two roads, stabbing Eleos into the ground next to her. She sighed, looking down at the box she held in her hand. Her damn conscience got the better of her. She was already dammed, why the hell should she allow Dean to be dammed alongside her. She knelt to the ground, burying the box containing the ritual ingredients. She then waited.

* * *

She knew the moment the demon had arrived, could feel the monstrous presence pricking at the edge of her own awareness.

"Mmm. A godling. Not just any godling either. A  _Ventura._ " A soft voice purred in her ear. Anna didn't flinch.

"I want a deal. A trade." The demon circled around her, red eyes glittering with malicious glee.

"And what does the daughter of one the bigger pains in Hell's ass want from me?" She murmured gleefully. Anna gave her a sharp look.

"A trade. My soul for Dean Winchesters. I know he made a deal. Change his contract. Give it to me instead." The demon scoffed.

"No." Anna smirked.

"Yes. What you did, trading out a human life from the Underworld? That gonna come back around and bite you in the ass faster than you think. Trade for me and I'll make sure that Lord Hades doesn't punish  _you_  to harshly." The demon smiled, it's eyes flinty.

"No. I made that deal with Dean special. You see one of the stipulations is that he can't try to get out of the deal; and if he does. Well then, little brother dies and Dean still goes to Hell. Sweetie you're about to negate his contract." Anna laughed.

"No I'm not. Dean doesn't even know I'm here. And this is what you are going to do." She drew Eleos from the ground cleanly, the blade leveled under the demon's throat. The human host's skin smoked slightly as her sword passed harmlessly through mortal flesh, but began to kill the monster inside.

"I'm listening." The demon snarled back at her. Anna smiled coldly.

* * *

Anna walked back into the farmhouse to a surprise. It turned out that Ellen hadn't died in the Roadhouse fire after all. She'd managed to make her way to Bobby's scrapyard and the two men had brought her in. She leaned against the door fame silently, watching as Bobby set a shot glass full of holy water on the table in front of a thirty something, tough as nails brunette. The hunter in question raised an eyebrow.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" Bobby shot Ellen a scathing glare.

"Just a belt of holy water. Shouldn't hurt." Ellen took the shot slowly, her dark eyes flashing with an unspoken challenge. She set the glass down on the table.

Anna liked her immediately.

"Whiskey, now, if you don't mind." She said with her whiskey rough voice. Dean leaned forward, a bottle in hand. Anna shook her head, retreating to another room to retrieve the bottle of her father's good whiskey from the steamer trunk.

She walked back in, ignoring the surprised looks on her friend's faces and the suspicious ones of Bobby and Ellen's. She poured everyone a generous round from her father's bottle. It had seen too much use recently. Anna raised hers, thinking about the different people who had died in the past few days.

"Ash." Came Dean's quiet voice. Everyone echoed him; and Anna caught Ellen and Bobby murmur a few extra voices before taking their own shot. She poured a second round before capping the bottle tightly and setting it aside. She resisted the urge to drink her second glass quickly, even after the morning she'd just had.

"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asked her urgently. The older woman looked haunted.

"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else." She scoffed.

"But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck." She poured herself another shot of whiskey from the bottle Deanhad brought out originally, and let out a long breath.

"Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice. He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes." Anna gave the woman a sympathetic look. She knew what it was like to lose so many friends all at once. To be spared through nothing more than luck and a twist of fate. She firmly blocked out the ghostly voices echoing in her memory. It didn't matter anymore, she would be facing her demons, both personal and enemy soon enough.

"I'm sorry, Ellen." Ellen took a shaky breath.

"A lot of good people died in there, and I got to live." She scoffed again. "Lucky me."

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe," Bobby said cautiously. She nodded.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement." Anna looked over at her sharply.

"Did the demons get what was in it?"

"No." She took out a map and lay it flat on the table. There were lines drawn across it. Dean looked over Anna's shoulder. She stiffened when she realized where they were going next. She tried not to show her panic as Dean spoke.

"Wyoming. What does that mean?"


	138. Chapter 138

_Dean_

"Howdy, Jake." Dean felt his face harden when they finally catch sight of the man who'd stabbed Sam. The five of them walked out of the woods and into the cemetery, guns, or in Anna's case sword, raised. Jake's eyes widened when they landed on Sam.

"Wait... You were dead. I killed you." Sam scoffed.

"Yeah? Well next time, finish the job."

"I did!" Jake insisted. "I cut clean through your spinal cord, man. You can't be alive. You can't be." Dean didn't meet Sam's brief glance, just kept his gun trained on Jake.

"Okay, just take it real easy there, son." Bobby was speaking to Jake slowly. Jake turned to the older man.

"And if I don't?"

"Wait and see." Anna warned coldly. Dean didn't need to look over to see the terrifying look on her face. She's always had this  _mine are bigger_ attitude that could scare off just about anything; and knowing the details on her life, Dean knew she'd usually be right. But he didn't want to see her hurt, especially because they were facing a crazy gunman with powers from a demon. Sam stepped forward, taking point. Jake chuckled.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you gonna do? Kill me?" He asked derisively. Sam shrugged, keeping his gun steady.

"It's a thought." The soldier didn't look impressed.

"You had your chance. You couldn't."

"I won't make that mistake twice." Sam snarled. Jake started laughing, and Dean saw red. The bastard who had killed Sammy was laughing in their faces. He moved to click off the safety on his pistol.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" He growled. Jake grinned, still chuckling, and looked at Anna.

"Hey sweetheart, do me a favor. Put a gun to your head." Dean's heart stuttered as Anna dropped Eleos into the dirt before slowly drawing one of the guns holstered at her hip. She glanced at Dean as she placed the gun to her temple with a steady hand. She looked terrified. But something in her eyes didn't seem quite right. Dean wasn't sure what. His hand shook slightly, his vision tunneling on the muzzle of her weapon near her silver eyes. Adrenaline poured through him as his mind registered the fear he felt. The sheer terror that Anna, his smart, strong, clever Anna might die. He'd lost Sammy once this week, if Anna dies, he doesn't think he'd survive it.

"See that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn." Jake taunted. Sam was furious.

"Let her go." Anna looked at the boys calmly. Suddenly all the fear was gone, leaving behind nothing but her usual poker face. Giving away nothing.

"Shoot him." She ordered. Jake glared at her.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off." Dean's heart started up again, helpless rage threatening to overwhelm him. Anna didn't even acknowledge Jake's comment as she kept her gaze trained on Dean. He shook his head at her. Jake made eye contact with each of them, but didn't bother compelling them. He knew he had them.

"Everybody, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart." He winked at Anna, leering at her. Possessive fury curled through his gut as Jake's eye wandered up and down Anna's body. Dean felt his lips lift in a snarl as he lowered his gun, hearing Bobby, Sam, and Ellen do the same. Anna looked irritated with everyone. Jake smiled.

"Okay. Thank you." He turned and pulled the Colt out of his pocket. He inserted it into the crypt door. Anna reacted immediately, her gun firing at Jake. Dean dove for his gun and so did Sam. When he came out of his roll he saw Sam standing over Jake, who was bleeding out and gasping for air.

"Please... Don't. Please." He begged, choking on his own blood. Sam shot him three more times, not flinching as blood splattered up onto his face. Anna placed her hand over his gun, lowering it silently. Dean moved to stand next to Sam as his brother wiped away the blood silently, his eyes cold and hard. Bobby and Ellen stood next to them, Bobby staring at Sam. Dean was staring at Anna as she holstered her gun. She reached up and pulled out a pair of earplugs. She gave them all a snarky grin.

*"Sorry, I couldn't hear a word that  _βλάκας_  said." Dean let out a choked laugh, relief coursing through his veins. A whirring sound broke the silence, and Dean stared at the crypt. Two engravings were whirring around the barrel of the Colt fast. Anna moved to pull out the Colt. He flinched as the mechanism stopped. Everyone looked over to the crypt as two separate engravings on the crypt spin in different directions, then stop. Anna looked irritated when she glanced over at Dean.

"Dean. What have we discussed about hesitating?"

"It has consequences." He muttered under his breath, not taking his eyes off the crypt. The spinning stopped, leaving a pentagram on the door, the Colt still sticking out of the door.

"Oh, no," Bobby said, horrified.

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asked nervously.

"It's hell." Anna answered shortly. She walked forward and pulled the Colt out of the crypt. The doors started to rumble. Bobby started to run, pulling Ellen with him.

"Take cover!" Bobby ordered. Dean sprinted away, grabbing Anna and throwing her to the ground behind a tombstone, covering her body with his. She snarled something in another language, but he ignored it. Black smoke roared over them, a tidal wave of demonic smoke pouring out of the crypt doors. He looked over to the tombstone Ellen crouched behind.

"What the hell just happened?" He yelled over the roaring wind, demons rushing through the air all around them.

"That's a devil's gate! A damn door to hell!" She looked at them. "Come on! We gotta shut that gate!" Anna pressed the Colt into his hand before she shoved him off her. She lunged for her sword, rolling into a low crouch. Dean checked the Colt for bullets, thinking that maybe the yellow eyed demon had given it to Jake for a reason. Anna glanced at him and shouted a warning he couldn't hear. The Colt flew out of his hand and into the hand of the yellow-eyed demon, who was standing behind him.

"Boys shouldn't play with Daddy's guns." The demon said with a smile. With a flick of his wrist, he flung Dean through the air. His head hit a tombstone, pain shooting through it. He heard Anna yell something, before the demon snapped back at her. He heard a heavy thud that tore at something inside him. Bobby, Ellen, and Sam were struggling to close the crypt door. Dean heard his brother call out.

"Dean!" Dean looked up, hand to his head, to see Sam letting go of the door and running toward him. Then he flew into the air, the yellow eyed demon smiling at him.

"I'll get to you in a minute, champ. But I'm proud of you. Knew you had it in you." Dean was struggling to sit up, and felt himself being forced back down.

"Sit a spell." The demon crouched in front of Dean.

"So, Dean... I gotta thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people, unless a deal is made. A life for a life is how the Underworld works. I know, red tape, it'll make you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation." The demon laughed. Dean felt anger coursing through him. The demon continued.

"Now, I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad. I liked him better than Jake, anyhow. Tell me, have you ever heard the expression, 'If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is?'" He peered at Dean curiously. Dean scoffed.

"You call that deal good?" Out the corner of his eye he saw Anna stand up, Eleos drawn, blood trickling down the side of her face. She lunged at the black smoke streaming out of the door. Every time her sword made contact with a demon, the air glowed a bright yellow. Dean thought he'd seen her fight before. But that was nothing to the warrior she was now. She was whirling through the escaping demons, her blade a blur of destruction. The yellow eyed demon shrugged.

"Well, it's a better shake than your dad ever got. You might even be getting out of it. And you never wondered why? I'm surprised at you. I mean... You saw what your brother just did to Jake's body, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it?" He chuckled. Dean's attention snapped back to the yellow eyed bastard.

"How certain are you that what you brought back is one hundred percent, pure, Sam?" He laughed out loud again. Dean was struggling against the force that held him there, determined to kill the son of a bitch. Anna was fighting her way closer to the doors where Bobby was shaking his head at her. Dean didn't catch whatever they were yelling at each other about.

"You of all people should know, that's what's dead, should  _stay_  dead. And even if you didn't, that little halfblood bitch of yours should have told you. I have a feeling her great uncle won't be to happy with her for not stopping you. Anyway... thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now, anyway. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self loathing, self destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family." Dean's blood ran cold as the demon stood and aimed the Colt at him. Before he could close his eyes, John Winchester grabbed the demon from behind. Dean went numb with shock, watching his father struggle with the demon. As they fought, the Colt fell. Dean was still too numb to notice until he heard Anna snap at him.

"Dean!" He looked at her fighting in front of the gate with everything she had, then looked back down. He lunged for the gun, and just in time. As the demon stood and turned back to Dean, he took aim and shot the demon in the heart. The body shook and hissed and crackled; red lighting shooting through it's body. With a final popping sound, it fell to the ground. As a trickle of dark smoke exited the bullet wound, the sound of the gate finally lessened. Dean turned around in time to see the gate slam shut. The crypt door began to crumble, until there was nothing standing but rubble. Bobby let out a roar.

"NO!" Dean wasn't sure what just happened so he fell back into an old routine. Dean looked to his father. John smiled and put a hand on Dean's shoulder. Sam had approached from where he had been thrown. He and John nodded to one another. John shot Dean a sympathetic look, then he stepped back and closed his eyes. A blinding light shone where he stood, and then he was gone. Dean looked at his brother, shocked. He started to chuckle.

"Well, check that off the to-do list." He muttered. Sam was also amazed.

"You did it." His brother breathed.

"I didn't do it alone." Sam paused.

"Do you think Dad really... Do you think he really climbed outta hell?"

"The door was open. If anyone's stubborn enough to do it... It would be him."

"Where do you think he is now?" Dean shrugged.

"I don't know." Sam started smiling.

"I kind of can't believe it, Dean. I mean... Our whole lives, everything... Has been prepping for this, and now I... I kind of don't know what to say." Dean grinned.

"I do." He leaned closer to the body. "That was for our mom, you son of a bitch."

"Boys." Bobby said quietly. They turned to him. He was pale and shaking, tears streaming down his face. Dean frowned. Why was he alone?

"Bobby, where is Anna?" Sam asked slowly. Dean looked at the older hunter. Last he saw, Anna was fighting back whatever was pouring out of hell, right by Bobby. The look of sheer grief on the older man's face made his stomach sink. Bobby glanced at the destroyed door, where Ellen knelt, her face frozen in shock. Sam caught on first.

"No. God, no. Please tell me she didn't. Please God, no." He begged. Bobby shook his head slowly, his expression crumpled.

"No." Sam croaked. Dean sank down to the ground. The older man took a shaking breath, pain radiating from him.

"She closed the doors the only way they could be without the Colt. From the inside."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> *idiot
> 
> (greek)


	139. Chapter 139

_Dean_

Dean felt hollow. A hollowness that was different from when Sam died. Sam was his family, his kid brother. He was supposed to look out for him, make sure he was safe. Sammy was responsibility and blood and arguing over music in the car. But Anna, Anna was different. She was smart, and tough and brave and  _good_. All the ugly they saw everyday, and Anna was this point of good. She was a whirlwind of secrets, swords and leather jackets. She smelled like the wind ninety nine percent of the time, and the other one percent was of the ink and paper from her ciphered journal. She was paranoid as all hell, but she still had trusted him and Sammy to watch her back on hunt after hunt.

When the devil's gate opened, demons had flooded out from hell. Anna had fought back, killing demon after demon; Bobby told him that's what her sword was forged for. He'd let her fight alone and to dive into hell to save them all. All Dean did, was kill the yellow eyed bastard responsible. He and his family got their revenge. But now here he was, one year before he followed her down. One year, that he was going to fight demons, just like she would have wanted him to. One year for Sam to try and get him out of his deal.

Bobby called Nico after they left the cemetery. The eighteen year old came to fetch his dead adoptive sibling's belongings for a second time. This time it was real. No take backs, no surprise resurrection in the kitchen. Nico came with Annabeth and Percy. Several of Anna's other siblings had followed them, and were staying in a motel just outside Sioux Falls. But only Nico, Annabeth and Percy stayed at the salvage yard. Anna's younger sister looked terrible. She was angry, angrier than Dean had been after John's death. She was angrier than Dean had been after Sammy had died. She was livid. He over heard her sobbing to Percy. Anna knew what was going to happen and hadn't told anyone. She'd gone home for a final goodbye, and nobody noticed.

"I told her! I told her! Keeping secrets was going to get her killed. I knew it! She should have told us, we could have found another way!" Dean watched as the green eyed teen rubbed her back, the boy's face crumpled with guilt. Dean knew that look. It was exactly how he felt when Sam had died. He was running every iteration of if only, in his mind. No matter what he had done though, the only person who could have, should have, saved her, was him. Dean was in that fucking cemetery with her. He'd held her in his arms when those damned gates opened. He'd even stood right next to that gate. But she jumped in, and he was still here.

Watching Nico was worse. He wandered around with this blank look on his face, and every time someone came through the door he got this painfully hopeful expression on his face; as though she might have faked her death all over again. The only emotion he would ever show was whenever he saw Sam. Then his face would darken and he'd mutter about cheating and paperwork and something about loopholes. Dean often wondered if Nico knew what he had done for his brother. But then he'd remember that nobody could know. Only Bobby and Anna. Bobby understood and Anna was gone. Sam found out; after. And he said he was going to save Dean's sorry ass for once. But Dean isn't banking on that one to hard. A deal's a deal. And Dean doesn't regret saving Sammy.

Dean was hollow. Because when he'd first met Anna he'd dragged her out of retirement, out of school where she was safe. Because he hadn't realized what was going on even with all the little hints she'd dropped about keeping everyone safe, how she knew something was happening. Because somewhere along the line, Dean had found himself irrevocably attached to the mysterious, secretive hunter.

Anna had become a cornerstone in their lives, touching base with them from all over the country. She'd wormed her way into their lives, full of mysterious half smiles, and secrets and a shiny sword. He didn't care that he didn't know much about her life, or that he was pretty sure that Yellow Eyes called her a half blood. He had no idea what that meant, but it didn't matter. Anna had been new age rock and foreign music and weird necklaces and rainbows made her jumpy and she smelled like the wind. She'd been everything Dean never knew he wanted and she was  _gone_. Torn away like everything else that he ever loved in his life. Everything, except Sammy and his car.

Dean found his way into the kitchen. He sat down and pulled out an inconspicuous little cell phone. She'd told him to burn it ages ago. She must have asked him to burn this little thing a dozen times and he never did. Instead he'd kept it safely tucked away inside Baby or his pocket. It had been an odd piece of her that Dean had hoarded. Sone part of her that couldn't run away or leave him. With a snarl he threw it at the wall. Anna was gone, out of his reach and there was nothing he could give to bring her back. He'd already sold his soul. Now there was nothing left to trade. Nothing he could fight, buy, trade or kill to get her back. There hadn't even been a body to bury.

The phone suddenly lit up, a slight ding of an incoming message Dean scrambled forward for the device. The small phone lit up.

_Hi Dean._

_If you're reading this I guess I finally made things right. I won't explain what that it, it doesn't matter anymore. The important thing is, DEAN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BURN THE DAMN PHONE._

_Ok, look I know you're pissed and confused. But it's ok. I've known what was going to happen for a long time, the path I set myself on all those years ago was only ever leading to that gate to hell. All this, I've been planning since before I met you. I've been trying to destroy that particular gate for a very long time. And if everything went according to plan, I should have sealed that entrance, and what I'm guessing are two dozen other shortcuts out of hell. Now it will be infinitely more difficult for demons to escape to the surface. The downside is that a shit ton of them got out while that door was open. But that's irrelevant for you. I've left instructions for hunting the escapees with some other people._

_What's important is that I know what you did for Sam. What you traded. It was damn stupid of you, and if I could I would be kicking your ass right about now. You know, that kind of sacrifice means something, and if you do manage to get out of that deal; you have a real shot at going someplace good. But I know you. You're not going to do that. That's not your style. You're gonna fight every day until you can't anymore and something is going to drag you down there kicking and screaming. Which is why I made a deal too._

_You still have one year. But your stay in Hell is not indefinite. One month down there for every day Sam was dead. That's three months in Hell and they have to let you go free; either back to Earth or to Heaven I don't know. But there is something big at play, and demons want you in hell. I wasn't able to buy you time, but I did buy you and Sam a better chance at stopping whatever Hell is planning._

_So I have one last favor to ask of you before you have to start fighting again._

_Go someplace wonderful for me. Someplace with a clear sky, and clean water and nothing but natural wonders for miles. Or go to Vegas or New York or Miami and do all the stupid tourist shit normal people like to do. Go to Disneyland or Seaworld or some crappy little backwater town with a nice pie festival. I don't care. Just go spend a day in the sun instead of the shadows._

_I know this is hard. Losing a comrade, a friend always is. But I made my own choices. So don't do anything stupid for me. Please go do something in the sun. Drag Sam with you. I know he's going to struggle for a while. Coming back from the dead has consequences. Don't let those consequences destroy his second chance. Tell him that for me. And, take Nico too. He'll need someone to watch his back. You're the only one I trust to do that. Keep an eye on him for me ok?_

_With all my love,_

_A. Colt_

Dean sat back on the floor, his body slumped and loose. The message was like having Anna sitting with him again. She was hot and cold, scolding and forgiving, harsh and protective all at once. She was the wind on a lonely highway, the strong truck stop dive bar whiskey and the moon in the middle of a midnight hunt. He was going to miss her.

His friend.

Dean never had many of those, and now he had one less. And it hurt like hell. But Anna wanted him to be in the sun, even if it was just for a day. Dean felt that hollow place inside him begin to close a little as he slowly stood up and went outside.

Into the sun.


	140. Epilogue

_Anna_

It was surprisingly dark. And cold, Anna thought as she crept down the stairs. She knew it wouldn't stay that way. She drew Eleos and carefully destroyed every door in the circular chamber. The veil was nothing more than a shortcut to the living. Now demons, like every other monster from the Underworld would have to get out through an official door. With permission from Lord Hades, bowing to the control of her  _*piccolo fratellino_  Nico.

Demons were new monsters, products of a new religion. Christianity. And Hades, being a busy god, had yet to fully secure the recently completed section of the Underworld hadn't realized that the veil was the name for a room full of short cut escapes. It wasn't even technically his responsibility, but all the Christian souls kept ending up in both the Duat and in the Underworld. Whoever was in charge of the Christian afterlife was big on the slacking. Leaving them in a sort of limbo. So Hades and Osiris had been sharing custody of these new creatures. But that left a lot of gaps in security; these demons were coming and going, and raising souls without any regard for the rules. Life for a life her  _podex_.

Now Anna destroyed them all. Every last door out of hell. The only downside of completing her quest, was that she was now trapped in the newest, largest and most dangerous section of the Fields of Punishment. Trapped between the destroyed paths to the land of the living and Tartarus. One the very outskirts of the Underworld and the Duat; the literal No Man's Land of her insane life. Not even the god of the Underworld himself (Either one of them) would be able to help her now.

Anna had no idea how she was going to get back to the land of the living, still  _living_. The only way she was getting out by traveling through the pits of Hell itself. Then she would have to climb through the upper levels of Tartarus before she was anywhere near Hades' influence. And even then, he probably won't help her. Anna sighed and sheathed her sword, preparing herself for the climb. Her baby sister survived this. Anna could do this. Probably.

By the gods, she was going to see the sun again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has stuck by my little (not so little) story for this long. 
> 
> As always I appreciate comments, even though this story is over, I still love to hear feedback!
> 
> *08/08/18
> 
> I’ve begun work on a sequel. It’s slow going and I can’t promise anything published for a while, but my muse has decided to start working again; so look out, because Anna’s not done yet! 
> 
> *12/04/18
> 
> First chapter of the sequel is finally up! Go check out Demons, Demigods and Hunters: Return from Hell on my dashboard
> 
> Translation:
> 
> *little brother
> 
> (italian) 
> 
> *ass
> 
> (latin)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything but my OC and her plot. Everything else is owned by their creators!
> 
> I always love comments!


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